Good Help is Hard to Find
by Bishieluver01
Summary: My name is Onyx. After I broke my game, I fell into the ocean, almost drowned, and now have two ghosts by the names of Fenimore and Walter following me everywhere and in order to get home I have to help them... This sucks.
1. When disks break

_Hiya! This is a short story about me falling into Legendia and saving two people from eternal damnation or something like that. Ah well, hope you guys like it!_

_I was tired, that's all I remembered that night…_

One of my friends had moved away that week, and I was still feeling the affects of depression. I sluggishly walked up to my room and tried reading, playing Super Smash Brothers Melee on the little blue Gamecube, drawing, writing; nothing friggin' worked! I looked over and saw my Tales of Legendia game in a corner of the box that held all my video games.

'_Might as well._' I thought as I picked up the case and opened it with a soft click. I took out the game and put it in my PS2 before asking myself briefly. '_Where was I in this again?_'

I picked up the controller and picked out one of the small blocks of memory and heard a small jingle as the screen faded to black. I waited about fifteen seconds before asking myself confusingly. "What the heck?"

I opened the cover of the PS2 and looked at the back of the disk. I gasped in horror and then an immense hatred took over me; the diskette had a single deep scratch from top to bottom. I screamed in fury and threw the disk at the wall. With a silent crack, it split in two.

I was too angry to notice that small electrical blue lines had appeared on all the walls in my room. I was about to rip apart my long leather coat when I noticed the slight sparking noise behind me. I looked over my back and saw a bluish, almost clear in front of me, right above the two broken halves of the game disks. I backed up, my eyes wide in confusion and fear. It kept growing larger and larger, and then it touched my foot. I instantly felt a freezing feeling spread through my bones. It kept widening. It ended up engulfing me completely, the icy feeling of fear creeping up my spine.

I closed my eyes, desperately tried to will away the shuddering feeling, but then I felt strange too. I felt lighter, and all the breath flew out of my body. I tried to breathe, but an invisible cloud floated in front of my mouth, making me unable to do a thing. My sight blurred, an inky darkness floated in from the sides of my eyes as I blacked out.

x x x x x x x x x x

I woke up, eyes looking up to see a blue sky painted with creamy white clouds. I sat up and breathed, my throat sore and scratchy. I coughed and soon heard a light female voice speak.

"Hey, she's awake!" I sat up and saw two faces looking at me. One was a young woman with blond hair styled into two ponytails, eyes wide in concern and suprise. The other was a serious blond man who had hair covering one of his eyes, but the irritated façade he wore told me that he wasn't the friendly type. They both had elaborate blue and white clothes on with a few orange accessories. The woman looked at me, a look of concern plastered on her face.

"Are you ok? You almost drowned in the sea!" The woman said walking towards me to see me better. I looked around and saw a huge ruby-red ledge with the huge deep blue ocean in front of me. I gasped and coughed a little afterwards. The man spoke while I was coughing.

"Fenimore, I still don't see why we had to save that idiotic Orerines." He said bluntly.

The girl known as Fenimore marched up to him and glared at him. "She would have drowned! You think I would just let her kick the bucket!?" She yelled back at him angrily.

He crossed his arms and turned to the sea. "Still, that doesn't explain how she's able to see us; or better yet why we're still here." He said with a somber tone.

She nodded her head. "True." She said thoughtfully.

I stood up and walked over to them. "Hey… where am I anyway? And who are you?" I said tired and confused after my coughing subsided.

They looked at each other briefly before the girl Fenimore exclaimed. "Do you have amnesia or something? You're on the Legacy, at the Alter of the Sea." Alter of the Sea… The name rung a bell in my head. She looked over at the man and he shrugged. "Oh, sorry! My name is Fenimore. My true name is Xelhes, and this is Walter. His is Delques." He looked away with an annoyed façade plastered on his face. I smiled a little. For some reason, I couldn't remember what my name was… So I went with a cooler sounding one that I liked.

"My name's Onyx Taisho, nice to meet you both." I looked over their clothes and saw that while Fenimore only had a single slash in the front of her dress; Walter has tears all over the edges of his clothes and slashes on his sleeves.

"Sorry if I'm rude but, where did you get all those marks on your clothes?" Fenimore winced a little and Walter tensed. _'Why were they afraid?'_ I thought as she answered.

"Um, that's one of the things we need to ask you… How can you see us?" I looked at them confused. What the hell were they talking about?

"W-what are you two taking about; of course I can see you!" I stuttered, confused.

I looked over at Walter walking towards me, and I resisted the urge to step back. He grabbed my wrist and I looked at his scarred hand. It flickered a second and it seemed to fade through my hand as he let his arm drop. My eyes widened and Fenimore looked at me with a sad look.

"I'm saying that you're the only one who can see us. We've been dead for two months."

_Was that ok for a first chapter? I always wanted to put Walter and Fenimore back into the ToL storyline again, but with them dead it's kinda hard… ' Anyway, if I get a __single__ review I'll update soon afterwards. Deal? Hope you liked it, Sayonara!_


	2. Of ghosts and explainations

_Yo! 'Sup? Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! Thank you so much! -hands out cookies- Anyway, I'll let you read on with the fanfic, so enjoy it!  
Oh yeah, and Happy Turkey Day:D_

"W-what? But I thought that… that…" I started shaking, and the two noticed.

"I told you Fenimore; she's just like all the others." Walter said, turning on his heel and walking over to the edge.

Fenimore looked on sadly and turned her gaze to me. "I'm sorry; he can get like that a lot. But I can tell from your clothing that you aren't from around here." I looked at my clothes and realized that I was only wearing my silky maroon PJ's with a camisole. One could clearly see my underclothes to my immense embaressment. I felt my face light up and Fenimore pointed to the ground near me. "Walter managed to get your coat, but I'm sorry if you lost anything."

Sure enough, there was my coat, soggy and moist. I'm fortunate that I sprayed it that week so it wouldn't shrink. That would suck. I went and picked it up. "Thanks, and thanks again for saving me."

She nodded smiling. "It's no problem, really!"

I looked over at that gash in her clothing and realizing what had killed her. Before I could stop myself I asked. "How… did you, uh…"

Her voice was low as she walked over to me and sat down. I followed suit. "It started when the Orerines barged into a sacred ritual of us Ferines. Those soldiers charged at us and killed some of our comrades. One was about to stab Shirley, but I got in the way and… well, it happened." She smiled sadly and the two of them heard Walter curse loudly.

"Fucking Orerines bastards…" He was sitting on the edge of the ledge, throwing a nicely sized stone over the edge angrily.

"That's just horrible… Why would they do such a thing?" I asked, heart clenched with depression for them with a tint of anger towards these 'Orerines' people they spoke about.

"We were at war, it couldn't be helped. A sinister general Vaclav used Shirley and her sister Stella to power the Nerifis Cannon. It destroyed a mountain behind the capital of Gadoria, and it would have destroyed that too if Stella hadn't given her life to defend them. Gadoria set against Shirley and the Ferines and labeled them as traitors along with Vaclav's forces."

"But you didn't do anything wrong! Why the hell would they do that?!" I asked, hatred welling up inside me.

"Some people are like that. Shirley taught me something before I died. That not all Orerines are the same. There are those who respect us and our way of life. I'm thankful to her for that." She sat up and smiled weakly at me. "It doesn't even hurt anyway, don't worry about it."

I looked at her a second confused and then asked. "If you two are… Ya know, ghosts then why can't you just go to heaven?"

She sighed and stood. "Before ghosts can go to the afterlife, they must complete their unfinished business from their past lives. I'm not exactly sure of what me and Walter have to do, but I know that I have to find my sister Thyra. I've felt her presence recently, so I know that she's on the Legacy somewhere."

Walter looked over to her and walked towards us. He tossed a bag to me and I caught it unexpectingly, peeking inside at its contents. "You'll need those later on. There are monsters all around the Legacy these days." I shuddered at his icy tone. I wish he wouldn't be so cold towards me, but if Fenimore said that he was a good person then I guess it was ok. I put the bag in my coat pocket and trudged after them, suddenly feeling the cool stone beneath my feet.

Fenimore sweatdropped and grinned at me. "Heh, don't worry. We'll be out of here soon and you can buy some shoes at Werites Beacon." Walter gazed over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. I felt that annoyed feeling inside of me again as he somehow summoned a huge black... thing. I'm not exactly sure what it was.

Fenimore looked at him in alarm. "Walter, don't! You know as well as I that you'll end up disappearing if you use your powers too much!"

He looked at her with a 'Do I look like I care?' look. "Calm down, like I'll leave you alone in this world. You know I'm better than that." Fennimore's worried face calmed a large fraction but she ran over to him. A light feeling of butterflies in my stomach appeared. Fenimore was right I guess. "Hey, you coming?" His commanding voice called out and I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Yeah!" I then ran after them, coat and curiosity in my arms, unaware of what exactly I was getting myself into. But hey, what else was there to do around here?

**-Onyx earned the title of "Skimpy Kitsune"  
**_-Your outfit makes guys drool all around you; watch out for girlfriends!_

_Muahaha… I've done another one! And with the whole disappearing thing, I kind of took it after Kingdom Hearts II and the nobodies. If they use up all of their power, they'll fade away into nothing. I think that ghosts are the same thing, except they're a soul without a body instead of the other way around. Gives me a fluttering feeling in me comparing Wally to Axel. They're both really awesome, but they also died… I'm reminded of that every time I play Legendia then I went and thought, 'Why don't I just make a story with him in it?' But of course, Fennimore had to be there too. Nice couple, Fenimore and Walter…_

_Anyway, I'll stop ranting to you guys and let you review. Hope you liked the chapter, Sayonara!_


	3. Entering Werites Beacon

_Hiya my peeps! Nice to see you all again un! …Oh, and ignore the whole 'un' thing; I'm copying Deidara off of Naruto for a day. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter un!_

I walked down a beautiful cave of some sort. Water trickled down the walls and into the pools beneath the platforms the three of us walked down. Actually, Walter was just being lazy and floated behind us but Fenimore walked beside me.

"So what kind of place do you live in?" Fenimore asked curiously. I looked at the ceiling in thought and answered.

"I… don't really remember for some reason. I know that I was in my room, then I was engulfed by this strange blue light, then I ended up with you guys." I said, trying my best to remember but in failure.

"She probably has amnesia, great. That's just what we need right now…" Walter mumbled behind them. I ignored him and looked over at Fenimore who twirled a lock of her hair.

"Hmm, that is a problem… Well, I'm sure that your memories will return to you sooner or later. In the meanwhile, we need to get you updated on where everything is." I nodded and she continued.

"First, there's the main city of the Legacy, Werites Beacon. That's where most of the Orerines, or people of the land, live. That's also where Shirley, her 'brother' Senel, and their friends live. Then, there's the Village of the Ferines, the people of the water and the same as us. Almost all of the Ferines on the Legacy liver there. There's also rumors of little otters called Orosoren living nearby, but we've never seen them."

"Wow… I remember Werites Beacon for some reason…" I said to myself. Fenimore beamed at her.

"Then we'll have to go there then, huh?" I lifted my fist and yelled a cheer.

"Charge!" Walter rolled his eyes and smirked a little.

"You get more like them every day Fenimore. You're becoming just like that hyperactive treasure hunter." She looked at him and held up the V sign.

"Takes one to know one!" He frowned at the comment and looked ahead.

"There's the end of the tunnel, now lets—" He stopped when he sensed some movement behind him. He looked at it and saw a silvery tail covered in scales slither behind a rock. He whipped his head around and yelled at us.

"That's a silver dragon, run for it!!" The black zephyr appeared beside him and he looked back at us with frantic eyes.

"I said run you idiots!! Get out and use the duct; I'll be right behind you!" He sent the zephyr after the roaring dragon and chased after it, floating over it. Fenimore grabbed my hand before I could see anything else.

"C'mon! We may be dead but your _not_!" She said frantically and she tried to pull me to safety. Inside, I wondered how she was able to materialize herself enough to pull me along. We ran to the entrance and the sunlight assaulted my senses. I saw a red circle on the ground and when we reached it, I disappeared in a bright flash of light.

I found myself looking upon a grassy plain, with the sea beside it and along a huge wall was this large city. A gigantic red chute of some kind came down into the center and waterways lined the town. I saw a large drawbridge in front of me.

"Welcome to Werites Beacon."

* * *

I stepped through the gates and saw the hustle and bustle of people walking everywhere. I saw a huge building, probably an inn of sorts, and a smaller one across from it. Far from it, I saw a muffin shaped building with a plume of smoke billowing from the top of a smokestack. I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. 

"Wow… this place better than I imagined!" I took a step forward and almost tripped on a rock. I was soon reminded of the fact that I needed shoes. The occational rock hurt my feet.

"You can get a pair at that store right there. There's gald in that bag Walter gave you." That thought struck a bell in my mind. Where was Walter; wouldn't he have been here by now? I walked towards the shop and Fenimore floated over me like a guardian angel.

"Don't worry; I'm sure he's ok…" She said this, but I heard from her tone that she was also worried. I walked in and the smell of fruity jellies flooded my senses. On one side, a man had a collection of items with a few choice items. On the other, a woman was selling bottles and those fruity jellies. She walked over to the woman and politely asked,

"Excuse me; do you have any uh… shoes?" I looked down in embarrassment, but she smiled at me.

"Don't worry dear, I have some. They're usually 600g, but you look desperate, so I'll give you as good deal of 300g, ok?" My face instantly brightened and I picked out a few of the larger coins and we made the exchange. I put the comfy shoes on and wiggled my toes. They fit comfortably on my feet and I grinned at her.

"Thanks!" I ran outside, bumping into someone accidentally.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I said hurryingly before looking back at the man. He had oily blond hair with a long ponytail draped around his shoulder. He sneered at me and I felt myself shiver.

"Just don't let it happen again girlie." He proudly walked inside with a stuck up attitude. Fenimore glared at him angrily.

"That… idiotic slimeball! How dare he go and do that kind of thing to you! He deserves to get kicked in the groin by a gaet!" She growled, punching her fist angrily.

"Now your acting like that red-headed bandit Fenimore. Colorful language too." Fenimore whirled around and caught Walter chuckling.

She smiled and caught him in a hug. "Your ok! Are you ok?"

He waved away her worries with a hand. "I'm fine, don't worry about it." She nodded in relief and smiled at him. A fluttering feeling filled my stomach and I smiled. Despite the fact they're dead, they still liked each other.

I spoke up then. "Hey uh, so where do I stay?"

Walter jabbed a thumb at the inn. "You can stay there for right now… How much money is in there?"

I searched through and replied simply. "About 2200g, I spent 300 on shoes."

He sighed. "That's about enough… Anyway, most of the rooms are probably taken, so go get a room already before you have to sleep on the streets." I nodded and the three of us went to go get a room at that place, unsure of whom we would meet later on.

_You like it un? That was a little longer than I thought it would be un, but its ok I guess… People like long chapters, ne? I try to get them longer, but you really have to try at it to get it correct hmm... Anyway, hope you guys like it un! And I hope you all have a good one, Sayonara yeah!_


	4. So Jill ran down a hill

_Hiya again! Tis me, Bishieluver01 at your service with the 4__th__ chapter! You guys are lucky... Not only is my computer connection back up online, but it's the 3rd today; MY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope you like the chapter on behalf on me becoming 17!_

_Oh, and for fanfic reasons, the normally free inn costs 100g to stay in._

I opened the door a bit slowly and looked up at the huge ceiling, then back at the inn opening. I walked up to the counter and then at a short girl yelling at the innkeeper. She wore a short skirt and tall boots; all in the cheery shade of yellow. Apparently, she wanted a cheaper deal for a room, which any normal person would find outrageously low.

"Hey, that's that one girl with Senel's group! N-something… Nora maybe?" Fenimore tapped her finger against her chin in thought while the girl kept yelling.

"Whadaya mean that's too low? 5 gald a day is plenty!" She threw her arms up and waved them around in an angry matter.

"But that's way too low! I have a family to feed you know!" He looked over at me and apologized to her as he turned to me. "I'm sorry, can I help you?"

I nodded and answered. "Do you have any rooms left?"

He opened up a book with lists of names and nodded at me. "Yes, we have one left upstairs."

I smiled and nodded. "Ok, how much then?"

"100 gald."

I searched the bag and pulled out a shiny silver piece. "This good?"

I tossed it onto the counter and he smiled while giving me a room key. "Thank you miss, have a nice day."

I grinned back and waved as up went upstairs. There, three rooms greeted me in front. I looked for my room number and went inside. The door closed with a soft click and I flopped onto the bed and sighed. "Ah… It feels so good to be in a bed again!"

Fenimore walked over to the window and looked out of it while Walter just floated near the door, looking distastefully at a magazine about the mainland. "Wow… Nice view, you can see the fountain perfectly from here!"

I looked confusingly at her and walked over, peeking out o the window. "What fountain?"

Sure enough, there was the bright red fountain with water shooting out in beautiful displays. There were quite a few people chatting there, giving her the impression of a town square. "It's the main center that people come and meet up with their friends. I'm surprised you haven't heard of it."

Walter gazed over at her. "I'm surprised you have…"

She gave him a sour look. "Well excuse me; I actually go out of the village sometimes."

He stayed silent and looked over in my direction. "So, have any bright ideas of what we're going to do now?"

I thought a second and looked back at him shaking my head. He sighed exasperated and sat down on the bed.

Fenimore suggested, "Well, we might contact Jay the Unseen. He may help us with out ghost problem."

"Tch, that twerp who uses a kitchen knife as a weapon?" Walter asked aloud in a cynical tone.

"Tch, the same 'twerp' who beat the crap out of you?" Fenimore mimicked the same cynical mocking tone. He veinpopped angrily and stomped _through_ the door and out of the room. His head peeked through the door and he muttered. "I'm going out, be back in a while."

His head went through the door again and he was gone. I looked back at Fenimore grinning nervously. "Does… that happen a lot?"

She smiled back and sweatdropped. "Uh… yeah. He has a habit of freaking me out with stunts like that."

I shook my head and giggled. "So, are we going out or what? I'd like to meet this Jay person you were talking about. Where can we find him?"

She looked at the ground. "That's why they call him Jay the Unseen, almost nobody has seen him in person; Though I've met up with him when Senel visited our village a while back."

I cocked my head in curiosity. "What does he look like?"

"Umm… Well, he has black hair tied into a ponytail on the side of his head. He's really pale and wears purple clothes with stars and other stuff on them. Kinda weird, but he's smart too." She said aloud, wondering about how the others were doing.

"Hmm, so can we go then? I really despise stuffy air, and it's a little too warm in here."

She looked at me confused. "I thought Orerines liked the warm weather…"

I shook my head. "Nope, I like the weather cold. Snowy if possible. Rain's best for me." She shook her head and walked over to the door. I followed her out of the inn and into the bright warm sunlight. I winced at the intensity of the sun. "Geez… I wish there was a pool around; the sun's annoying."

She looked over at the small mountainous region where the large chute started from. "There's a spring up there, but shouldn't you…" She had started to say, but I ran off in the direction she had pointed so I didn't hear what she said afterward. She looked around, and then followed me.

I grinned and slowed to a fast walk. I adored it when I got my way with people. And to be able to go swimming after so long! I grinned with envy at the thought after a year of being on land. …Wait a second though; wouldn't Walter not know where we were? I shrugged to myself. _'Eh, he'll figure it out…'_ I continued up the path, with no thought of where I was going. Nor did I see the ledge that I was fast approaching.

"Hey, stop!" I turned around at the strange voice to see a red-headed man with tanned skin, zebra pants and… no shirt on. He ran over and I instantly blushed. _'Damn, he has nice abs—'_ I stopped that thought, but it processed and he looked quizzically at me. "Hey, you ok there sweetie? You look a little red." He put a hand to my blazing red forehead and one to his own.

"I… I'mgoodthankyou!" I said quickly, wrenching his hand from mine and almost stumbling over the edge of the cliff.

"Whoa, be careful there! That'd be a nasty fall sweetie." He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.

My mind shrieked. _**'SWEETIE!?'**_ I screamed and ran past him down the hill. "WHAAAH!!!" I screamed and ran down the hill as fast as I could.

Fenimore saw me approaching her and tried to speak to me, but I didn't catch what she was trying to say and practically flew past her. I got a painful hitch in my side, but my downhill accent wouldn't let me stop. I screamed as my legs seemed to have a mind of their own. I saw someone quickly approaching and I shut my eyes for a painful impact. I felt something crush into me, taking the breath out of me. Though whoever I had run into was knocked over after a surprised grunt of pain. I think I tumbled a few times before finally stopping. I heard someone groan in pain.

"Hey, you ok!?" The redhead yelled from the hill, speeding down as fast as I was but in full control.

The small frame beneath me groaned. "Argh… What the hell…?" I looked over at the mystery person's face and saw jet black hair paired with large violet eyes. He stared back and blinked.

"Who the heck are you?" I asked before I could get the thoughts out of my head. The redhead dragged us both to out feet and he dusted himself off. I did the same and Fenimore finally caught up to us, screaming at me angrily about how reckless I was.

"Hey, what's the big deal!? No normal person goes an' runs into people, especially a shrimp like Jay." My eyes widened a second; this was Jay the Unseen!? He was as old as me! Just a little taller though…

"Stupid bandit… I'm fine!" He looked me in the eye with annoyance and impatience.

I growled and glared at him. "As if it's MY fault! You were in the way! Besides, I might have DIED if you weren't there to cushion the blow you moronic homophobic hermaphrodite!!"

His eyes widened while the 'bandit' just cocked his head. "What'd she call ya?"

Jay blinked again. "…A moronic homophobic hermaphrodite Moses…" He shook his head and I grew angry at his stupidity.

I marched up to him and poked him in the ribs hard. "A moronic homophobic hermaphrodite!! An idiot who's afraid of gay people and who has both of the sexual reproductive organs baka!!" I yelled in his face, poking him with each word. My pokes were surprisingly hard, so he backed off a little.

I stopped when another voice yelled in my ears.** "IDIOT!!!"** I fell over and faced a very pissed off Walter glaring daggers at me.

"**First**, you go off without telling me, **then** you almost get **killed**, and then you get wound up with this… **stupid Orerines**!!!" He yelled into my ears, voice laced with anger and annoyance. I covered them, trying to get his loud voice. I looked over at the two staring at me as I was shielding my ears against nothing as far as they were concerned. I grabbed his collar and wheeled his head towards the two dumbfounded. He instantly stopped yelling and was silent for a second.

"…Oh……**CRAP**." He sputtered out, his eyes as wide as mine.

Fenimore came into the picture and stared too. "Now what…?" She asked herself silently.

_Muahaha!!! I hate cliffhangers, but MAN is it fun to put on other people! Anyway, if you have any questions then I'll be glad to answer them in the next chappie. Have a good one, Sayonara!_


	5. Playing Tag and Hide and Seek

_Wassup people!? Thanks so much for the people who have reviewed so far, you're the ones who make me update! -throws cookies in relatively small crowd- Anyway, hope you like the chapter! Oh, and thank my brother for the great ideas on this!_

Jay looked at Moses, then at me.

"Am I sensing Déjà vu or is she just insane? Moses shook his head.

"Nah, she's just like Grune!" I fumed at the temporary insult. Who the hell are they calling crazy!?

"Hey you, quit ignoring me shrimp!" I yelled at Jay, him gazing back at me with a bored look.

"Look who is talking…"

"Yeah, she's even shorter than you Jay."

That's where I snapped. I kicked him in the groin and stomped on his back repeatedly screaming.** "WHO THE **-bleep-** HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE CALLIN' ME SHORT!?!? I'LL **-bleep- **CASTRATE YOU IF I HAD A KNIFE ON ME!!!"**

Jay covered his mouth and tried to hide his snickering, failing miserably. I looked at his side and saw a knife handle sticking out of one of his pockets. I tackled him and tried to wrench the sharp pointy object out of its small sheath.

"GIMMIE IT, I OUTTA KILL THAT SON O'VA -beep-!!!" He rolled his eyes and got up, me sliding off but still with my grip on the knife handle. He dragged the knife, but I held on and ended up getting as much dirt on my front as a baseball player who slid to home base.

"Get off!" He flung the knife up and down, but I still had a hold on it. When he tried to push my head away from it, I bit his hand, hard.

"OW, -bleep-!!! **GET IT OFF OF ME!!!**" He yelled and let go of the sheath and focused his energy in prying my teeth off of his hand. I started to taste something metallic, but I ignored it until I got the knife close to my torso and finally let go. He stepped away, holding his now bleeding hand in pain and kept yelling. Moses had gotten up and was now cursing fluently, tears starting at the corners of his eyes. The two glared at me as I backed up to a ledge. I looked at them, then the knife, the ledge, the knife, and back at them.

Then I threw the knife over the edge.

"What the- **MY KNIFE!!!**" Jay ran to the edge and looked on as it fell into the never-ending forest, never to be seen again. Moses was both laughing and sobbing at the pain. I couldn't tell which was more dominant.

I heard the ghostly Ferines behind me and turned towards them. Fenimore was trying her best to try to keep from laughing while Walter was rolling on the ground roaring with laughter, tears sprouting from his eyes. I looked at Jay again and almost squeaked. He seemed to have a strange demonic aura around him as he walked towards me, face scrunched up with anger and hatred. I grinned a little nervously.

"Heheheh… **BYE!**" I zoomed off into the direction towards town, leaving the four in my dust. _'Oh crap!'_ I thought frantically. I sped down the hill, and then a small voice spoke in the back of my head.

'_Oh shit… I can't stop.'_

I screamed as I almost tripped, but kept speeding down the path, feet making loud thumps along the way. The Ferines sped up to me and Fenimore yelled into my ear.

"You idiot, why did you do that?" I screamed back over the great whooshing sound in my ear.

"He was gonna kill me! What else was I supposed to do!?" Walter stifled his giggles and yelled back in my ear.

"Now he really **IS** going to kill you moron! What'll you do then, huh!?" I ignored the insult and focused on trying to stopping or at least slowing down. I also noticed how cool my coat looked when it was flying behind me. Now I was like some badass silver-haired evil villain with a cool sword! I grinned, but saw a person in front of me and squeezed my eyes shut while screaming.

"Look out below!" I felt some weird force push me out of the way, but I ignored it and tried to slow down. I finally stopped and tried to catch my breath. But then I remembered there were two insane psychotic maniacs after me and I ran to the inn. I opened the door and rushed downstairs. Apparently, there was some kind of pub down here, but I ignored the musician playing Chocobo Robo Voice and continued downward. I saw a huge cage with a desk in front of me, so I hid under that. I heard an ominous voice and a strange beat playing. _'Where have I heard this beat before?'_ I thought before shaking it off and looking for the two who would seal my ugly fate.

"Hey, did you see a girl pass down here?" I heard Jay say, anger still tinting his voice.

"Nope, only Isabella and me have been down here, right Isabella?" A deeper voice that reminded me of some long-forgotten rock star said.

"Yes Curtis." A lighter female voice answered him. I guessed that this woman was Isabella.

"Oh, and would you like to have a battle of truth and justice against your most feared rival?" Curtis asked. I heard Moses speak next.

"Yahoo! Count me in!" I expected Jay to reply, but he declined.

"No, I don't have my weapon with me." His voice sounded impatient and menacing.

"Alright then, come this way!" I heard three pairs of footsteps come down the stairs and I froze. 'Shit!' I remembered that I was hiding under a desk, but I was spared in the fact that there was only a crack under the desk that I could peek through without them seeing me. I looked through at two intricate pairs of boots and a pair of tanned feet straddling in a pair of sandals. I covered my mouth as something was dropped onto the desk above me.

I heard the footsteps die away and I peeked over the top. I didn't see anyone, so I snuck up the stairs. I heard Jay talking to someone in the room, so I hid under a table until he went upstairs. I got up and walked past a few people who went the same way. I looked at a silver haired teen and grinned stupidly. _'Cha… He's a bish…'_ I shook off the thought and continued upstairs. _'Stupid fangirl instincts... Always go for the silver hair...'_ I snuck to my room on the second floor and sighed as I fell on the bed, slipping off my shoes as I did. I sighed, and then heard someone yanking my ear.

"Ow ow ow, no pinching…" I opened my eyes and saw Fenimore staring at me. I backed off against the headboard and looked at then as she glared at me.

"Would you stop risking your life like this!? How do you expect us to go to the afterlife if **YOUR** dead too!?" I tilted my head at her.

"How were you able to pinch my face anyway? You're both ghosts!" Walter spoke up, floating near the window lazily.

"If we really tried then we can use our powers." He poked my side for good measure. "Remember back at the Alter of the Sea?" I nodded briefly.

"Oh yeah. Now I remember. How do you summon those things anyway?" Fenimore summoned a little golden creature with wings; almost like a butterfly.

"They're called Teriques. All Ferines can control them when they 'come of age'—" I interrupted her.

"What? Like puberty?" The two stared at me awkwardly.

"…What's that?" I face faulted, sweatdropping and eye twitching.

"How can you not know what that is!? Guy's voices get deeper and girls…" The two inched in closer, curious.

"…And that is something that you don't need to know…" I trailed off and turned my back. Fenimore threw up her hands while Walter looked on impassively.

"Ugh, you're hopeless… What, it's not like they become demonic killing machines who thirst for blood, right?" She asked sarcastically. I sweatdropped at the irony of the statement.

"Uh… right." I felt a huge earthquake rumble the building. I almost grabbed Walter's foot, but I went right through him and slammed my face into the floor. He looked at me with a strange face then floated through the roof to see what was going on. Fenimore materialized her hand enough and pulled me over to the door frame. I grabbed onto it and the rumbling stopped soon afterwards.

"Hold on a sec, I'll be right back." Fenimore floated through the roof and I stared at it, sweatdropping.

"I'll never be able to get used to that…" I waited a few minutes then they came back down.

"Ok, it looks like no one was hurt…" Walter stared at her then continued where she left off.

"…But there seems to be some strange black mist floating up near Lumen Spring." I pumped a fist into the air determined.

"I say we all go!"

"You just want to go swimming…" I sweatdropped.

"So true… But let's forget about that and go anyway!" I cheered and Fenimore joined in.

"Charge!!" Walter held his head and sweatdropped.

"Great… I have to play the role of 'Babysitter' again…"

**-Onyx earned the title of "Cowardly Mediator"!  
**_-Run away, Run away, Live to fight another day!_

**-Walter earned the title of 'Babysitter'!  
**_-Because someone has to control those childish idiots…_

_Was that ok? I tried to make the start… funny. XD Oh, and for the record, -bleep- is the F-bomb. Have a good one guys, and try to review too! Sayonara!_


	6. The first fight and encounter

_Hiya people!! How're ya all doing today!? Yeah, a little too much sugar today. It's just that school gets out on Wendsday and well... I'm glad! Anyway, hope you like the chapter!_

I locked the door and walked through the door of the inn, the two ghostly spectators following behind me. All around, people were yelling and screaming bloody murder, along with other assorted curses.

"Help! The world is ending!"

"The sky is fallin—"

-_SMACK!-_

"You idiot, it's just an earthquake…"

The three of us rolled our eyes and continued up to Lumen Spring. I watched as about eight or nine people ran up the hill towards the source of the inky black smoke. I noticed the figure in the back wasn't a person at all but a huge red dog with what seemed to be a white bandanna.

I grinned in glee. "It's a big doggie! Can we go see it, pleeeaaase?" I whined at the two dead Ferines. Fenimore saw it and smiled happily while Walter took a step back. Fenimore floated into the air and spun around a few times. "Yeah, let's go get him!"

The two of us ran off to see the cute dog while the remaining member in our small party sighed in defeat. While the two floated gently behind me, I ran up the steep slope to a path next to a small river. I continued, then another earthquake commenced. I screamed and flopped onto the ground covering my head. The shaking stopped a minute afterwards and the two floated up from behind me.

"Tch, this is starting to get out of hand…" I heard Walter mutter as he passed me, going ahead while Fenimore stayed behind as I got up again.

"There was that earthquake again… Geez, I hate those…" I said as I looked around and saw the group heading for the beach. I ran after them as I saw a small flash of light as a monster appeared in front of me. A large brown wolf-like creature seemed to appear from a small shaft of light, its large glinting amber eyes glared hungrily at me, staring at me like a fox would its helpless prey. It took two large steps with its heavy paws, howling into the air alerting all near that it would soon attack. I looked around frightened at the two ghosts staring at their only chance of the afterlife trickling down the drain. Its roar echoed through the path, as it took a hungry step forward. I looked around in panic as the huge beast approached.

I noticed a sparkling light coming from the sky and looked upwards. The sparkles spun downward and slowed as they started to take the shape of a long shaft with a peculiar shape on the end. The sparkles flashed and they slowly disappeared when a large weapon floated in the air in front of me. A long shaft the color of ebony was attached to a silvery four-pointed star; almost like a shuriken. In the center of it was a jet-black stone made of either onyx or obsidian. In front of the star was a long glinting blade the color of a blood red sunrise. The sharp edge on the bottom was also silver in color. The magnificent scythe glided near my open hands and when the sparkles faded away, the blade was dropped heavily into my palms. I caught it with a bit of difficulty and stared at it with envy.

The wolf growled and my attention darted back to the furry creature. I looked at the blade again and held it up so that the blade was aimed at it. I didn't hear anyone's words reaching me, only the thunderous beating of my heart in my chest and the quivering breath that left my lips.

Finally, the wolf let loose another roar and charged towards me. I gasped and squeezed my eyes as I swung the great weapon with difficulty. I heard a sickening slash, a yelp and a large thud as the pumping slowed. I slowly opened one eye and saw the wolf on the ground, a gaping hole in its chest and as still as an evergreen tree in a deep forest. I stood up and looked again at the blade of the scythe, its smooth surface covered in a deep red liquid, dripping onto the path and slowly running towards the town behind me.

The ringing in my ears stopped and I heard astonished gasps of surprise along with worry. I blinked and the two Ferines stared at me, Fenimore gaped at me in shock and worry, her voice finally coming in loud and clear. "What the hell _was_ that Onyx? That was amazing! How did you get that huge scythe!?" She chirped, staring from the dead wolf to the edge and at me and then back again.

Walter, on the other hand, was examining the weapon still in my grasp, staring intently from the shuriken-star to the pointed blade. "How did you manage to conjure this from mid-air anyway? It doesn't look like you really did anything." He said flatly with a hint of curiosity hidden in his voice.

I looked at the two of them and stuttered confused. "I… I don't know what happened. I saw a light above me and a bunch of sparkles came down and out popped this thing." I held up the scythe for them to see. "I don't know what the heck happened." I rubbed the back of my head and grinned a little.

The two glanced at each other and Fenimore spoke. "Uh… nothing else? No kind of special power or anything like that?" I shook my head and her shoulders sagged a little. "Great… We're stuck in a hole now…"

Walter passed the two of us as he spoke. "Well, that was just a simple galf. If she's going to deal with the monsters around here, then she'll have to earn a few eres… Of she can be an eren at all." He said dryly, looking ahead and spotting something.

I tried to think hard. _'That's right… an eren is someone who used crystal or iron eres…'_ I thought to myself before Walter made a hand gesture that meant for us to be quiet.

I looked ahead and saw the nine figures returning to the town. The pretty red dog was with them. As they approached, I made them out them with more detail. The first seemed to be the leader, with spiky silver hair and a white and grey outfit. He was speaking to a shorter blond girl with curly hair with a two-piece blouse and a black skirt with a trailing piece of cloth behind her. Behind them was a large brown haired man with an orange shirt and black pants. I also saw a girl with black hair with a blue cape and a black outfit; a tall woman with a revealing green dress and a… well; it looked like a cloth that would go over a bride's head in a wedding. Along with them, I saw the noisy girl in yellow with -insert gasp of horror- Jay and Moses.

The red dog, which looked suspiciously like the galf I fought with earlier, pricked its ears up and looked at me. I shivered as Moses tried to figure out what was wrong. "Hey Geit, wat'cha doin' over there?" The wolf growled and barked, charging at me. I couldn't help letting loose a scream as it pounced on me. The scythe clattered to the ground beside me and I tried to push the huge animal off of me with fruitless efforts.

The other 8 members of Jay and Moses' troupe came running up and I grinned nervously at the fuming redhead and dark brunette glare daggers at me. "Eh he he… Hiya again guys."

The two instantly yelled at once.

"**That's the girl who lost my knife!"**

"**That's the girl who destroyed my pride!"**

The six stared at them then the yellow girl laughed. "Destroyed your pride huh? What, did she give you a bath?"

Moses was enraged at her and yelled in her face. "Shut up Bubbles, it's none of your business!"

To my surprise, 'Bubbles' did the same thing. "Make me, Red!"

The two growled at each other, then hit each other on the head. The silver-haired boy sighed.

"Ugh, would you two please stop?" He asked sighing. I heard yelling and looked behind me only to sweatdrop.

Fenimore was barely holding Walter by the waist while he was raving at the silver haired boy in front of me. "C'MON, LET ME AT HIM! I'LL ONLY KILL HIM A LITTLE!" He yelled, cursing at the boy in front while the people in front of me said not a word.

I shook my head and covered my ears. "Please stop yelling you two… I can't take loud noises." Which was partially true, I didn't like noise except good music, like... JPop and stuff like that. But that's another story…

The two looked at me and stopped miraculously. Also surprising, the dog Geit got off me and I was able to breathe again. Hallelujah! "Thanks… So your name's Geit huh?" I asked the fiery red galf, petting his soft mane and giving him a hug. He licked my face and I giggled a little. "Aww… You're such a sweetie!"

"Ha! Looks like Spot likes her more than you Red!" Bubbles laughed and the two started arguing again.

The large one who I just noticed had glasses on hit them on the head, bumps rising up from their scalps. "Norma, Moses, stop it." He then turned to me. "So, who are you? You don't look like you're from around here."

I stood up, brushing off my leather coat and picking up the large weapon, leaning on it carefree. "Yeah, I guess you could say that… Name's Onyx Taisho; I'm on a mission so I can go home. And you are…?" I left the question on a hanging note and they got the point.

"I'm Senel Coolage." The silver haired teen said then pointed to the blond girl. "That's Shirley Fennes," The black haired girl. "Chloe Valens." The big guy. "Will Raynard." The busty girl. "That's Grune." Bubbles. "Norma Beatty." Jay. "Jay the Unseen." Moses. "Moses Sandor." Geit. "And that's Moses' companion Geit." I squealed a fangirl squeal and hugged him again. The lot of them sweatdropped for some reason I still don't know about.

I looked at the scowling Jay and bowed my head. _'I guess I overdid it a little, didn't I?'_ I asked my thoughts as I walked up to him slowly. He raised an eyebrow in scorn as I looked at him then looked back down again in an instant. I bowed low hastily in apology. "Jay… I'm really sorry about the knife, truly I am!" I rose back up and locked with his gaze for a second. "I'm sure I don't really deserve forgiveness, but would it be alright for you to acknowledge that I said sorry?" I avoided the other's gazes and looked down at my feet.

I was surprised to hear Shirley speak in a gentle voice. "Well… What exactly happened?"

I blushed and timidly responded. "I… think I was high on sugar at the time." This response earned me stares from everyone.

"High?" Fenimore asked, utterly confused.

"On _sugar_???" Walter asked just as dumbfounded.

I looked at the ghosts and responded to their questions. "Yes, high! I eat a lot of sugar and get super sugar-high, and that causes me to get really hyper and really happy. Often I'm out of it for a while and do stupid stuff and…" I stopped when the others were staring at me. I just realized that they all thought I was talking to a wall. I sweatdropped quite a few times afterwards when I realized my mistake.

"…Oops…"

_How do ya like them apples, eh? Anyway, review please. And ask any questions if you have them! Sayonara!_


	7. Meeting the Fun Bunch

_Hiya… Well, life's been chaotic, but life's tough, ne? Anyway, hope you all like the chapter!_

_By the way... I have to say it's very annoying how 275 of you read this fanfic yet I never even got a single review last chapter. It's annoying and reviews are what keep me going on this! Anyway, I'll stop harping on you, but **please** be considerate to authors and at least review to say "Good job" or even "It sucks". We really appreciate it._

I looked at them then smashes both hands into my face, squishing my cheeks together and rolled my eyes behind the top of my eyelids, making a hilarious face. "Take a picture, it'll last longer!" I said as I stopped and looked at their faces. Luckily, Shirley smiled while the Laughing Brigade laughed.

I smiled to myself as they spoke, "That's not bad Otto! Ha ha!" _'…Otto?'_ I thought to myself with a confused stare.

Grune smiled carelessly, "Oooh… What a pretty little gizmo you have Onyx!"

I sweatdropped as she walked up to the scythe and touched the onyx in the center of the star. "Uh… Thanks?" I said with a nervous smile.

Chloe spoke up next while Grune admired the weapon, "So… What is this mission of yours that's so important?" She asked in a stern commanding voice.

"Uh…" _'Crud I should have expected them to ask that…'_ "I… can't declare that to you at the moment. My mission is a secret and I must keep it like that." I responded with equal ferocity lacing my tone.

A few of the others shivered while Walter watched in amusement, "I'm starting to like traveling with this girl…"

Senel shook his head and spoke, "Anyway, we can't just leave you here… I say we help her out a little with this mission of hers."

Jay glared daggers at her out of the corner of his eye, and then replied, "No way in hell…"

Moses shrugged, "I don't see what problem there is if she at least apologized. Hey, she may even be able to kill some more monsters and buy you a new knife."

"You idiot, that knife was worth over 10,000 gald." He seethed and I started to sweatdrop. _'Ack… No wonder he was so pissed…'_

"Are you kidding? She doesn't look like she knows a sword from that scythe she has! I doubt she'd be able to kill that many monsters to repay Jay." Will said, giving me another look-over.

I straightened and waved my scythe, "Hey old fart, I may not look like it but I can easily hold my own in a battle, got it!? Don't judge people just by their looks alone!" I said. He gave me an annoyed look from the name I called him.

Norma waved her hand. "Ooh ooh, I call a vote!" She said, jumping up and down a few times to make herself heard.

"Alright then. Whoever wants Onyx to travel with us and repay her debt to Jay raise your hand." Senel announced, raising his own. Along with him were Moses, Norma, Grune and Shirley. "Alright, all who don't want Onyx to join us raise your hand." Will, Chloe and Jay raised their hands, a scowl on the youngest one's face. "Ok then, it's settled. Onyx, you'll fight with us and earn back the gald for Jay's knife. Then we'll help you on your mission. That ok with you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm peachy."

Norma jumped again, raising a fist and cheering, "Yes! A new member of the Fun Bunch!"

Grune copied her and said, "Charge!"

I grinned at them. They acted exactly like I did when I was back in school. I joined in with them, cheering also, "Yatta, lets go!"

The two specters behind me spoke to each other, Walter pissed off with having to travel with Senel and Fenimore happy that she's with her friends again.

"I'm starting to hate traveling with this girl…" Walter mumbled with a sulk.

"Oh come on Wally, it won't be that bad!" Fenimore giggled, twirling a ponytail in her fingers.

"I thought I told you not to call me that!" He retorted, a veinpop becoming visible on his temple.

I grinned to myself, but it disappeared when Jay gave me a sour glare. I looked down at my feet and The Fun Bunch continued onward back to Werites Beacon.

* * *

We all ended up wandering towards Will's house, which was about a block northwest of the inn. I gazed over at the beautiful garden in the corner with bright pink fuchsias, lavender carnations and orange-red poppies. I grinned to myself, looking over at Norma, "So who planted all of these?" 

"Oh, they were there to start with I think, but G-Girl planted some more and takes care of it." She said with a smile of her own.

We all walked inside and I found a small girl with brown hair wrapped in a huge bun with a cute yellow dress yelling at Will. "You're never around you great big idiot!" She looked over at the rest of us and greeted, "Hi Senel."

"Hiya Hattie!" Norma called and I smiled as well.

The small girl looked over in my direction. "Who the heck are you?"

I recoiled a little from her tone then fired back, "I'd like to ask you the same thing shrimp." I just _despised_ these insolent little brats…

Shirley, sensing the now tense atmosphere, spoke up in a light voice, "Um… Harriett, this is Onyx Taisho. Onyx, this is Harriett Campbell."

The young girl narrowed her eyes and I veinpopped, _'Oh, so that's how it is huh? BRING IT!' _I thought to myself angrily. "Nice to meet you Harriett…" I gritted out with a fake smile, though most people could tell I hated the girl already, and vica versa.

"Likewise…" She responded with a scowl before turning to Will, "As I was saying, why'd you just up and leave like that! You never pay any attention to me!" She yelled angrily.

"Harriett, you know I can't just stay at home all the time with my job—"Will started to say, but Harriett interrupted.

"Even then you never pay attention to me! You know what, you suck!" She yelled before brushing past the group and leaving out the door.

I narrowed my eyes a little and muttered, "Geez… What crawled up her butt and died?" Norma snorted while Moses started snickering. I have to say, those two were probably the best of the group; they could actually take a joke.

The two poltergeists hovered beside me, Walter occupying his time by trying to punch Senel in the face, only for his hand to pass on through. The greaves-user shivered and rubbed his arms a little, "Is it just me, or did the temperature drop about 10 degrees in here?"

Geit sniffed the air before lying beside Moses and wining, "What's wrong ya big furball?" The redhead asked confused.

"Hmm… That's odd. Usually there aren't drops in temperature unless a wisp appears." Jay mused to himself. "Hey, you aren't haunted by evil spirits are you?" He asked, giving me an agitated look as if it was my fault. Though it kinda was, but he didn't have to be mean to me at every second I was around!

"What's a wisp Jay?" Moses asked curiously.

"A wisp, or will o' the wisp as called on the continent, are tiny flames that usually appear over water or even out of midair for no reason. They're usually associated with ghosts and shinigami." Will answered for him, looking around for the small ghostly flames. I was wondering what those tiny flames that sometimes appeared around the two dead Ferines were…

"Hmph, that brat's smarter then he looks if he can sense us." The blond man muttered, crossing his arms and legs and just hovering around. Fenimore took it on herself to try and put her hand through Jay's chest, only for fun and out of interest. The cobalt-haired teen instantly shivered. "…I just felt a hand go through my chest guys, there are ghosts roaming around in this room!" He said, his voice quivering a slight bit.

I gave Fenimore a look before giggling slightly at his face. Jay glared angrily at me and was about to say something, but Shirley cut him off. "Onyx, you can see this ghost, can't you?"

I looked at her, then looked down at the floor with a small smile, "…Yes. And there are two ghosts, not one." Fenimore floated outside through the door and I said, "And one of them floated outside through the door just now."

Moses and Norma's faces turned pale, "So there really are ghosts in here…?" Norma asked, her voice a higher pitch then usual.

Will's expression didn't change and he pulled out a notebook, "Yes, finally a real specter! Where is it?"

I sweatdropped at Walter's expression, "Umm, for one thing, he's a guy. He's beside Chloe's back about 3 feet up from the ground." Chloe squeaked and ran beside Senel as Will ran a hand through Walter's side, chilled at the touch, "Fascinating!" He said, voice a little happier then usual. Walter sweatdropped and floated away a little bit.

Jay wasn't amused though, and kept his eyes on me, "I take it that these ghosts are the reason why you're here?" I nodded.

Shirley shuddered a little, "Call me weird, but this presence seems… familiar?" Walter backed away a little as he shot me a glance that meant 'Don't say anything.' "Well… These two have met you I guess…" I shrugged, only saying half the truth.

Fenimore glided in and placed an ice cold hand on my shoulder, then I felt my mouth moving on its own. "Hi guys… It's nice seeing you again, even if you cannot do the same." Our voices seemed to mix into two and they froze.

"Was that who I thought it was?" Senel asked before Grune leaned on one foot and said, "It's nice to meet you too Spooky." Walter veinpopped while grabbing my shoulder and saying, "Who the hell are you calling Spook, Orerines?" He demanded angrily and most of the group shivered. "I know that voice…" Chloe said while Norma's expression brightened.

"Guys! It's Fen Fen and Wally! They're back from the dead!" She said happily while Walter's voice came through my mouth again, "We're still ghosts you idiot. Last time I checked that categorizes as pushing up daisies." He said with contempt lacing his tone.

Fenimore tried to push Walter over to talk, but I backed away from them, saying, "Hey, it's my body; leave me alone!" I looked back to the group and nervously laughed, "Eh he he he… Well… Now you know."

Jay veinpopped before saying, "Our problem just got a lot worse…"

"No shit Sherlock." Walter replied back sarcastically.

**-Fenimore earned the title of "Spooky"!  
**_-You're the definition of scary, everyone fears your wrath!_

**-Jay earned the title of "Target"!  
**_-"10 points if it goes through her stomach. 50 points if it goes through her head!"_

_So how was that guys? The gang finally knows about Walter and Fenimore, will sparks fly? And will Onyx be able to withstand Jay's annoyance and heavy debt? Find out in the next chapter of Good Help is Hard to Find!_


	8. Pranks and Breakfast

_Happy New Years guys! Hope you all like the chapter!_

By the time night had fallen, everyone left except me, Will, Senel and Shirley had left. To my discontent, Fenimore and Walter were chatting with the group about what had happened during the few months they were dead through me. It isn't exactly comforting that a ghost is talking through you to people! Anyway, apparently not only was Shirley the Merines (whatever that was), but she almost destroyed the world. Not the average thing you would think of her when you saw this sweet little blond girl who looked younger then I did. So I just decided to sharpen the huge black scythe while the two poltergeists gossiped.

"So, anything else happen after you two started working as fiend-slayers besides the smoke?" Fenimore's feathery voice interlaced with my own asked aloud.

"Pretty much…" Senel replied, nibbling on a sandwich in the meanwhile.

Shirley pretty much stayed silent. Even though it was Fenimore speaking through me, combined with the image of me sharpening a very large and very sharp scythe with her voice was a bit disturbing…

"Odd that there's some sort of strange mist going around..." Walter murmured to himself through me. "When Fenimore and I were wandering around the crystal forest we saw a strange figure appear and then vanish in a cloud of smoke."

"Could it be the same smoke from earlier?" I asked, my thoughts drifting elsewhere.

"It could be, but we wouldn't know until we actually went and searched the place." Will spoke up, thinking to himself.

"Well why don't we all go tomorrow then? I'm sure it won't be that bad..." Senel said casually.

"But Maurits sent me a message that something was going on at the village of the Ferines too. We have to go see what's going on there first!" Shirley said and both of the ghosts behind me straightened, their attention seized.

"Something's going on there too?" Fenimore asked.

"Yes, there's black mist floating all around the village there too." Will answered gravely and Fenimore's face paled, clearly afraid about her people. Afterwards, Will said they al would be going there first, including me as not only was I a mediator, but I also had a debt to settle with Jay. After the village however, would we go investigate the Crystal Forest for the strange being.

Meanwhile, I walked back to the inn with the two shadowy figures gently floating behind me. Thoughts swarmed my head as I thought about the black mist. _'Why in the world would something like that be lingering around the village? And who the heck was that figure Fenimore and Walter saw?'_ My thoughts faded away as I saw Fenimore waving a hand in front of my eyes.

"Hello? You in there Onyx?"

"Oh... Sorry 'bout that Fenimore, I must have been daydreaming..." I chuckled to myself thinking about the last time I did that. That time, I had gotten a very rude awakening from a glass door...

"I hope so. Otherwise you probably would have run into a tree." Walter commented with a smirk as he watched my face turn into one of annoyance.

"Oh shut it, _Wally_." Instantly, his expression turned to one similar to mine and I smiled evilly back at him. _'HA! Take that!'_

I slowly closed the door to my room and took off my coat and dragged a chair to the window, pulling apart the curtains, opening the window and watching the indigo sky glittering with thousands of stars. I just stayed like that, feeling the cool air on my face and looked up at the sky, wondering whenever I could go home and what awaited me.

"Can't sleep...?" Fenimore asked, gliding over to the window and floating outside to watch the night sky with me.

"Yeah..." The two of us continued to gaze up at the night sky until I spoke again. "You know... From where I come from one can't see even see even half the stars out here. It's filled with so many lights all but the brightest are snuffed out. I never really thought it would be so beautiful out in the open. The Legacy really is a beautiful place to live."

"I never really thought about coming out here because of the scenery, but your right... The Ferines just came to the Legacy to escape the wars raging on the mainland. It's peaceful here..." Fenimore replied, and I stayed silent.

A light breeze fluttered through the window and I shivered but otherwise made no notice. I slowly closed the window and the curtains and went to bed.

* * *

In the morning, Walter got back from looking around the town to see me in bed and Fenimore on a chair asleep. He slowly floated over to her and brushed some of the hair out of her face, a small smile on his face.

He looked back at me and then a thought came into mind. It was right before sunrise, he probably wasn't even up yet... The smile on his face turned into a mischievous grin as he slowly approached me...

I blinked, and then a cruel smile was placed on my lips. "Hehehe... Time for a little fun." Walter's voice intermingled with mine as I walked outside in my coat and some shoes. I was soon at a tall house with a garden in front next to the river, and I remember slowly opening the door and walking up the stairs. Senel was still asleep, snoring softly and sheets askew. Before I knew it, my hands had dumped a large bucket of ice cold water onto his face and he woke up immediately. I felt something leave my body and I woke up.

"...Huh?"

**"YOU!!!"** Senel yelled at me as I looked back dumbly. **"WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!?!?"**

"W-what did I do?" I stuttered as he furiously looked at me, water slowly dripping from his white bangs. I then heard it... The sound of laughing. I looked around and saw Walter, flying around the room laughing his ass off, tears running down his face from laughing so hard.

"Hahaha!! That was **so** worth it!!" He cried, barely able to make the words as he burst into another fit of laughter.

Rage filled up inside of me before I remembered that Senel was behind me with a hand tightly gripping my arm. "Where do you think your going...?" He growled angrily.

So in that situation where the blame was upon me and there was no way to escape I did the ultimate move. I elbowed him harshly in the ribs and ran down the stairs screaming, "RAPE! RAPE!" Sure it wasn't truthful as he hadn't done anything of the sort to me, but that would have help coming.

I socked Walter in the face on my way down to my surprise, and he flew through the wall outside. Ah well, who cares; he got me into this mess!

I slammed the door open and ran into someone on my way out. We both fell to the ground, me in front of the figure. I slowly got up and looked at the figure, who was now standing over me with a glare on his face but smiling (or at least trying to). He had greasy blond hair tied back in a hideous ponytail and his face reminded me of that one slimy dude from Star Wars, except this guy was way uglier.

"I'm sorry, little girl." He said in a voice seemingly to drip with grimy sweetness. "Are you alright?"

**"AAAAAHH!!!"** I ran away from the man screaming my head off. _'He looks like a blond pedophile! A worm, a maggot! ...**Michael Jackson.**'_ I screamed again and ran faster, earning weird looks as I went. Sooner or later I stopped in front off a park, gasping for breath. "I haven't run that fast since I 'accidentally' spilled that spoiled milk on Samantha..." I chuckled in my head at that thought. God, her face was priceless.

I looked around before realizing I was lost. _'Oh great, I did it again...'_ I looked around the park and saw a couple of huge tents in a circle near the path. I shrugged and walked over to them. I saw a few people pass me who reminded me of pirates as I saw Geit tromping over to me happily. "Geit! Hiya!" I ran up to the huge galf and hugged his neck, scratching behind one of his ears as I did so.

"Hey Geit! Where'd ya run off ta?" I heard a voice say and saw Moses swagger out from behind a tent.

"Oh, Heya Onyx!" He waved for good measure and I and Geit walked over to him.

"Morning to you too Moses. This where you live?"

"Yep."

"Cool! Doesn't it get cold in a tent though...?" I asked curiously, gazing over at a nearby tent.

"Not really, you get used to it." He answered while stroking Geit's mane. "Yo, you hungry?"

My stomach growled and I nodded.

"Well why not show down some breakfast with us?" I grinned to myself and ran up to fall into step with him. A few people gave me strange looks and I shrunk a little at their gaze. Soon, a blunette ran up to us and greeted Moses.

"Morning Moses!"

"Mornin' Csaba."

Csaba looked over at me with a curious look, "Who's this?"

"Oh, that's Onyx. She kinda broke somethin' of Jay's and so now she's stayin' with us. Also has a little spectral problem, but not important." He gestured to me. "Csaba, Onyx." He then looked at me and gestured to him, "Onyx, Csaba."

I grinned, "Nice to meet ya!"

He smiled back at me, "Nice to meet you too, now let's go eat."

"Yeah!" Both me and Moses said and Geit barked happily. _'Ya know, these guys aren't as bad as I first thought. Pretty nice once you start to know them, and they're certainly easy on the eyes... ...Ok Onyx, stop blushing now.'_ I shook the thoughts off and went to join them. Out were some apples, bread and some chicken legs. Knowing my appetite, I grabbed a piece of bread and started devouring a chicken leg.

"Geez Onyx, you starve or something before you get here?" Moses asked when he took a huge bite out of an apple. I couldn't talk so I just nodded, then Csaba laughed.

"Well, there's plenty here, so help yourself!" I swallowed and thanked Csaba and Moses, trying not to look at them too much as my face was already a little red.

"...Hey Moses?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah hun?" I glared at him with that nickname, then asked my question.

"...Can ya put a shirt on or something?" What? I didn't have a boyfriend at home (single and proud!) but him shirtless and with really low riding pants gave me images I didn't want...

To my embarrassment, the two guys looked at each other and then started laughing their heads off. "Aww, Onyx a lil' shy?" Moses teased, ruffling my hair a little as I glared straight ahead.

"God, you people act like not having a boyfriend is a crime..." I muttered under my breath, face getting redder by the minute. _'Not that it isn't a crime to look though...'_ "So what if I don't have one, huh? Geez, your like my friends at home, everyone's all lovey-dovey!"

"We're just teasing Onyx, we don't act like that." Csaba said, and my nerves calmed down as I grabbed another apple and took a bite out of it.

After that, I explained that the group was going to the Village of the Ferines to check out the strange happenings there, then to the Crystal Forest to search for any signs of that black figure. Moses, after hearing this decided that it was about time they left to go back to Will's place. Silently, I feared going back as that raging white-haired teen would be there, but at least I would tell him that it was **Walter** that did it. He hates him so much that he would have belived it.

Speaking of which, _'How the heck did he manage to possess me anyway?'_ I thought to myself while me and Moses walked back to Will's place. _'Surely all ghosts can't do that... Can they? Bleah... Onyx, you read too many stories.'_

**-Senel earned the title 'Waterlogged Brother'  
**_-You're the one who has to get their hands wet... And head... And clothes..._

_God that was longer then usual... Anyway, please review!_


	9. A poetic arguement

_Hokey then, back to writing blah blah, sorry for updating late; was kinda busy with some stuff. Anyways, hope you all enjoy the chapter! Slight warning as they may be a little OOC...  
And I don't own anything from Legendia, Romeo and Juliet or Pirates of the Caribbean._

When me and Moses walked through the door, I saw Will speaking to Shirley and Senel (gulp), with Jay sitting in a chair nearby. "Wow, you actually weren't late this time Moses." Jay commented.

"Hello to you too squirt." Jay fumed at the redhead's comment before noticing I was behind him. He gave me a strange look, almost a disgusted look

I shrunk a little under his gaze, _'God, I wish I knew what he was thinking... Wait a minute, what's with that look? He doesn't... He doesn't think that I...'_ Realization flowed through my mind and I was overwhelmed with rage. _'T-THAT DIRTY SCUMBAG!! HOW **DARE** HE THINK I-I WOULD DO SUCH A THING!!'_ So I did what any girl would do. I walked straight up to him, placed my arms on him upper arm and back, then launched him across the room onto the counter, him sliding off easily with a loud crash.

Will, Moses, Senel and Shirley all looked towards me with a look of horror, amusement, anger and fright as I stomped over to Jay, who had just gotten up. "WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?!?" He yelled, but I countered with an enormous roar.

**"WHY DO YOU THINK YOU PINT-SIZED ****MORON****!?!?"** If I wasn't so angry at his interpretation I would have noticed a slight look of fear in his eyes. Yep, I was _scary_ when I was pissed, and this was going overboard. **_"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LOOK FOR YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A GRUB!?!?"_**

**"I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!!"** He got the courage to yell back.

**"DON'T GIVE ME THAT MAGGOT! THAT LOOK YOU GAVE ME WHEN I WALKED IN! YOU THOUGHT... HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK SUCH A HORRIBLE THING, YOU SLIMEBALL!?!?"** I screamed back in his face.

The four behind the two of us whispered to each other, then I turned to them and screamed, **"SHUT THE HELL UP YOU ****WORMS****!!"** They instantly grew quiet. I turned back on Jay and hissed in his ear angrily, "You actually thought I had... come from his place from last night, didn't you...?" I shook his shoulders roughly. "DIDN'T YOU!?"

A look of realization came onto his face and looking fearful, he stuttered, "W-what, I thought no such thing."

I glared at him in the eyes and a flash of red glinted through mine, **"You lie..."** Now he looked scared. I gave him the darkest look I could muster and then whispered in his ear, "If you ever think such a thing of me again... I won't hesitate to cut off a few of your limbs, starting with the ones **down there**." His face paled more then it should have and I threw him to the floor, "Humph." I turned on my heel and walked straight outside, slamming the door on the way out.

I soon stomped out of the area and went to the bakery, buying a few croissants as I drooled over the cakes in the display cases. Too bad I had to save my gald.

I then browsed in the local custimation shops and saw a beautiful black onyx gem being sold by the potions girl (I just called her that; I think her name was... Sarah or something.) Instead, I just bought some quartz and went to the armor and weapons shop. That's where it got interesting.

The glittering swords and knives caught my eye, but I also looked at the beautiful plate armor, chain mail and light tunics they also had. So I decided to get a deep green one with silver trimming along with some baggy pants. That just about used up a lot of the cash I had, so I went out around the city to go take out my leftover rage on the fiends. Not bad kills, I got at least 500 gald from them, but now that I was more tired and hungry again, I went back to Will's place to try and make up for what I had done; a guilt trip if you will.

When I had my hand over the doorknob, I hesitated for a moment, then grasped it and slowly turned it. When I slowly closed it behind me, I could hear the group talking.

"Geez, wish Onyx was here, I wanted ta see 'f she was still pissed at you." That sounded like Moses as he laughed afterwards.

"Shut up Moses..." Jay sounded agitated.

"Still, what did you do that angered her so much Jay?" Chloe asked, and judging from the silence I doubted Jay would have answered anytime soon.

I felt a ghostly presence near me and looked around at Fenimore, "Fen, what are you doing here...?" I whispered to her.

"Just let me take care of things for now, alright? Trust me." I felt a cold feeling in my gut and felt myself walk forward and open the second door. Almost instantly I heard an array of yells at me, along with accusing questions where I was.

"Listen, Onyx didn't do any of those things, alright?" Fenimore's voice intermingled in mine. Most of them grew quiet and she continued, "If you had to know Senel, I think someone was just getting a bit of revenge on you." His face seemed as if a brick had fallen on his head and explained why the sky was blue. "And Onyx thought you had thought of her doing something... vulgar so she acted on that anger. The same as an insult I guess. And she also went shopping and fought fiends outside the city, so lay off a little."

I felt a cold breeze and I blinked, in full control of my body again. I rubbed my eyes and looked at all of them, smiling crookedly and fully expecting a bunch of yelling. "Ehehe... Sorry I took so long guys. So are we going to take those ducts to the Village or what?" I tensed, waiting for an accusation but never got one.

Will sighed and said, "Well... At least you said your sorry and it's in the past now."

"Let's just go already! I wanna go kick some monster butt!" Norma complained while Shirley sweatdropped.

I sighed heavily and followed a few of them outside, passing some of them a strawberry filled croissant as a peace offering. As they probably were hungry, they accepted it.

Sooner or later, there was a huge pinkish duct in front of us. I slowly entered it and we disappeared in a burst of light. Sooner or later, we reappeared in front of a dirt path leading to a lake with pines all around it. I looked around, then quickly followed the group in, next to Norma and behind Chloe. I looked at a huge red arch with many stones leading across the water to the village entrance. As we walked inside, I looked all around and there were people moving around, all with blond hair and blue and white clothing. _'Creepy...'_ I couldn't help but think, as an elderly man walked up to us, who I could only guess as Maurits.

"Welcome back Merines, everyone. Could you please come with me?" We all followed him into a huge room with a round table and seats all around it. _'King Arthur much.'_ I sat down with the others and he turned his gaze to me. "Who is this girl with you?"

"Oh sorry, I'm Onyx Taisho. I'm... kind of in a little situation that involves someone you know." I said the last line quietly, but he just gave me a confused look.

"Whoever do you mean by, Onyx?" Maurits asked, tilting his head to the side.

I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and heard Fenimore say, "Hello Maurits. Long time no see." If it hadn't been me, I would have laughed at the face me made.

Maurits' face visibly paled and his eyes widened. "F-Fenimore...?"

"The one and only. Walter's here too, you know." The man paled even more and was now white as a sheet.

"I... Wha... How did you...?" He stuttered, thinking of things to say.

"You see, Maurits, we have a problem of our own. Apparently, not only has Onyx been separated from her homeland to land on the Legacy, but she met up with Walter and Fenimore too. In order for her to go back, those two must go to the afterlife first." Will explained.

Maurits regained a little color and folded his hands. "This certainly is a predicament you've placed me into... But I have no information to give you; I have no knowledge of ghosts and specters--"

"Hey!" I heard Walter say through me, but Maurits continued, trying to get the idea that a _dead person_ was talking to them out of his head.

"Anyway, I would suggest looking in the Quiet Lands, in the elemental Monuments. They have books on ancient eres and spirits in the archives in the deepest part of them."

"Thank you Maurits. Now what about this black smoke you were telling us about?" Senel asked, and that was about the extent of me listening to their conversation. I dazed off for a while before hearing the doors behind me bang and a blond girl with blue and white clothing running inside the room... Wait a minute, was that Fenimore!? No wait, she was dead...

I heard said ghost gasp behind me and guessed that she must have been her twin sister.

"You! Maurits, what is that traitor doing here!? You shouldn't even step into this place!" She spat angrily, glaring at Shirley.

I stiffened, then Norma said, "Well, if it isn't Tulip." _'...Tulip? That's a new one.'_

"Thyra, they are here to help with--" Maurits started but the girl refused to listen.

"What could they possible help with!? Where were they when all of the Ferines died on the mainland!? Where were they when our families died!? **Where were they when my sister died!?**" She screamed in anger and I felt the cold air behind me get even more frigid. **"If they really wanted to help they would have let the Merines fulfill her duty and cleanse this world of the filthy Orerines!!"** She ran outside and Fenimore followed quickly after her while Walter and me exchanged looks.

Maurits sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm sorry you had to hear that... Thyra's been full of rage ever since Fenimore died and Nerifes became calm."

Moses and Norma nodded, "Yeah, no kidding..." Norma replied, sticking her nose up in a stuck up manner. Chloe reprimanded her as Shirley bowed her head slightly saddened greatly.

"Sometimes I wish that it was me instead of Fenimore that had died." She said and Chloe rubbed her back.

"Shirley, there wasn't anything you could do. Fenimore died for you in hopes you could fufill her hopes and dreams."

Shirley's voice cracked as she quietly cried, "But her dream was to see her sister again and that never happened because of me!"

"Yes it has." The girls looked over towards me, whose voice now had a deep one mixed into it. "Don't doubt yourself; Fenimore did that to make sure you would have a chance of life. Do not think of her death as a curse but a blessing. Besides..." I looked over at them, "Isn't it enough that she's around again, even for a short while?"

The group was silent, then Grune piped up, "Aww, how sweet! Are you a poet, Wally?" Shortly after she asked this did the whole group burst out laughing at that possibility.

"A fricken' **poet!?** What the hell!? Haha!" Senel cackled and fell onto the floor laughing.

Jay stood up and took a silly overdramatic pose, "'But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Fenimore is the sun!'" He fell over laughing. Will and Chloe got the reference and pounded their fists onto the table laughing.

Norma joined in, taking a voice that sounded similar to Fenimore's, "'O Wally, Wally! Wherefore art thou Wally, my little squishy Snuffles-kun?'" All except Moses, Maurits and Grune got the joke and started roaring with laughter. The others laughed at the similarity to their voices and the shear hilarity of the lines.

I started laughing my head off, not at their joke, but at said Ferines' face. It was bright red and I swore I could have seen a flare of fire in his eyes. I could see he was just about ready to burst, so I stood up, brushed off my clothes and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen... 'I was my hands of this weirdness.'" I then walked out as a few brave citizens peeked inside to see what was so funny that the entire village could hear their laughter...

**-Onyx earned the title 'Spazz!'**  
_-You yell and scream at anything and anyone, you PMS-infused teenager._

**-Walter and Fenimore earned the title 'Starcrossed Lovers'  
**_-Love transcends all things, even death._

God, that last part was so fun to write... Same with the argument at the beginning of the chapter. Hope you review and tell me how you liked the references.


	10. Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

_So here we are at the big 10. Thanks so much for staying with me so far! Enjoy the chapter!_

So while I was outside, walking around by myself as Walter had decided to go float off somewhere and brood. I would too if I were in his position. That, or possess me and kill everyone in the room. ...Eh, didn't do well to dwell in my thoughts about morbid thoughts I guess.

So, I walked to kind of a shrouded part of the village and leaned against a tall tree in the shade. I sighed and looked out across the sparkling lake to the mountains on the other side. _'Peaceful indeed... Almost reminds me of Crescent Lake with more plains.'_ Crescent Lake was a large lake about 50 miles away from where I lived, and had huge mountains surrounding it. It was really near the National Forest, so that's why it was so well protected. It was really deep though, and though it was extremely clear not one person would be able to even get to the bottom; not to mention the so called ghosts that lingered around it.

_'Not that I don't believe in them anymore...'_ I thought to myself. Lot of things had changed since I left. An ache hit my chest thinking about it and I realized, _'I'm homesick..'_ I missed all of my family, even my jerk brother who never seemed to leave me alone. Hell, I even missed the huge amounts of Math homework I never did, and that's saying a lot!

_'Ugh... I'm reminiscing again. I wonder where Walter and Fenimore went anyway?'_ I slowly got to my feet and started trudging to the edge of the village, looking around. I then saw a small stone slab under a large pine, with what looked like a broken robot next to it. 'Is that Fenimore's grave?' In front of it was Shirley, whom was speaking to Thyra. Or at least trying to; the girl looked either in the verge of slapping Shirley or burst out crying.

I hid behind some bushes nearby and listened in on their conversation. Shirley was apologizing to Thyra... Probably telling her about what really happened and that she would have rather died then her. Thyra probably was trying to ignore her and think her own ways, but as she went on I wasn't so sure...

I heard a sob and looked around. I then saw Fenimore under a tree nearby, but who couldn't see me. I heard crying from her and saw trails of tears trailing down her face. My heart felt sad for her. Here her friend was still grieving for her and feeling doubts and her sister felt as if it was her fault she died, holding a grudge against an innocent person.

I then felt a light whoosh of cold air and saw another figure sit next to her. Walter wrapped his arms around the crying girl and leaned his head against hers, her tears fading slowly and sniffles stopping. I smiled in spite of myself. Even though sometimes they seemed to just annoy each other, they really did care for one another. This would have made great blackmail, but... I'll just leave them be.

I slowly got to my feet and, still out of sight, crept out of the bushes and looking back one last time, snuck away from the area.

I soon found myself awakening rather roughly to the earth shaking. I groaned, and heard a scream, _'That sounded like Thyra!'_ I quickly got to my feet and ran towards the area where I heard the echoing cry emit from. I briefly saw a huge cloud of black smoke surrounding Thyra, whom stepped back out of it as it took shape into a huge bear-like monster with clothes and a staff.

I ran towards it, black and silver lines running down my hand and transforming into my scythe. I swung it behind me and, leaping into the air, slashed a huge gash down the length of its side. It roared in pain and when it turned its huge furred head to look at me with its crimson eyes, I gulped.

"Uh... shit." I dived out of the way to avoid a huge clawed paw slamming down in the spot where I once was. I blocked one of its paws, but got slammed into the ground and was now struggling to hold the claws away from my torso. By the time my arms were shaking, I saw a couple javelins and bolts of lightning hit it square on.

I quickly looked around and saw the group running towards me. I tried to glare at them and yelled, "It's about time you got here!"

"Beggars can't be choosers Onyx, now go!" Senel yelled as he landed a kick on its arm. It slashed out at Chloe, who narrowly dodged its paw and stabbed its leg. However, when Moses tried to retrieve his javelin from its back he got hit and flew across the path.

"Moses!" I yelled, but saw Norma already on it.

"I'll heal him, just protect me!" She screamed after me, dodging the fiend's huge fist. I nodded, and swung my scythe in an arc, its blade lightly brushing against the fiend's fur and cutting many of the coarse strands.

Its huge staff floated into the air and started to glow with a yellow light. My eyes widened and I screamed, "Look out, it's charging a spell!" The attackers who were close to it nodded and started attacking its weak points, trying to stop it from unleashing its spell.

Too late. The staff now glowed as bright as the sun and then the fiend grabbed it, swinging it in the direction of Shirley and Grune. The huge arc of electricity flew towards them, before Shirley and Grune cried out, "Maelstrom!" All of a sudden, a huge whirlpool of air and water shot up and most of the electricity shot spun up into the sky, having no effect. Though most were avoided, the last traces of the attack still hit them and I could barely hear their screams as the wind whipped my hair around before slowly fading.

I ran to them and searched my bag for some gels. They took the gels gratefully and slowly sat back up, panting and hurt but otherwise ok.

I ran back to the fight and running up the fiend's back, stabbed the blade of my scythe deep into its shoulder. It roared and started swinging its body around, myself trying desperately to hang on. No good though; my feet soon slid off it's slippery wet fur and now I was violently swinging to and fro with only my hands on the scythe.

I yelled to Will and Norma, "Guys, use a spell! Something; anything!" Right after I had said this, the huge beast had reached back and grabbed me around the waist with a single paw. I felt the sharp pain of its claws raking across my back and screeched in pain. I yelled again for them to attack, and right before Norma had performed Black Hole I saw a blue and purple blur slash a knife across its heavy arm. It roared and both of us fell to the ground and race away before a huge black ball of energy attacked the fiend.

I sat on the ground, panting heavily and saw Jay look back at me, "You ok?"

I nodded slightly then grimaced, "Fine. Thanks." I slowly got to my feet, but soon dived out of the way as the fiend swung its staff at me and Jay. It barely missed us, and Senel and Chloe both took the chance to hit its blind spot.

It roared again and charged another attack, but this time all four of the spell casters fired their own spells before the staff s much as started to glow. The combined yells of Thunder Blade, Ray, Bloody Howling and Ground Dasher filled the air as their combined attacks all hit the monster at once. Needless to say, the monster was toast.

After its bloody corpse fell to the ground, the black mist that had surrounded it slowly rose from its body and evaporated into the air.

The group panted heavily and it was just now that I felt the pain of the gashes on my back. I noticed my legs shaking and slowly slid into a sitting position, searching my bad furiously for a gel. Instead, a white light surrounded me and I felt a relaxing sensation. Sparkles fell down around me and when the light faded, I noticed I no longer felt my injuries as much. I looked over and Norma gave me a grin. I returned it and got to my feet again, walking over to where Maurits and Thyra were.

"This... I'm not sure I can forgive you yet." Thyra said uncertainly.

"You don't have to, at least not yet. Fenimore died because of me, I know that. But I don't think she would have wanted you to live your live in anger and grief." Shirley answered calmly.

I looked around and saw Fenimore glide next to me. She softly spoke, "Let me talk to her after this..." I nodded and looked back at the two Ferines girls.

Later when the group was about to leave, I ran after Thyra, who was walking along the path to her home. "Um, Thyra?"

The girl looked at me with a look that briefly said, 'Stay away from me, Orerines.'

"Um... Could I, or more so someone I know talk to you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Make it quick."

I breathed out and Fenimore put her hand on my shoulder and spoke, "...Thyra?"

Instantly, her eyes widened and briefly she murmured, "Fenimore...?"

"Thyra, it's me. You can't see me now, but I'm here; speaking through this girl. Listen to me. Yes, I died to save Shirley, because I know she has a gift of making people happy, and right now she's working on making the Ferines and Orerines coexist together in peace. But most of all, I'm so sorry I wasn't able to live enough to see you again."

"T-that doesn't matter! Your here with me now!" Thyra said, tears at the edge of her eyes.

"I can't stay Thyra. I may have to leave, for good. I just want you to know that... that I'm always here with you." Fenimore gently said, voice cracking midway through.

Thyra sniffled and cried, "Fenimore... I don't want to be alone again..."

Fenimore smiled and brushed a hand against her cheek, "I'm always with you Thyra... Remember that you have friends too. ...I love you and... bye." Fenimore lifted her hand from my shoulder and I got control of my voice again.

I looked over at Thyra, who looked back at me with her tear-streaked face, "Listen… Thyra. If there's a way to bring Fenimore back, I'll find it. Promise." I turned and walked back to the entrance without another word. 'For _her sake, Fenimore's and Walter's, and everyone else's... I have to keep that promise... I just hope I can last long enough to fulfill it.'_

After we had gotten back from the fight, I just felt like falling asleep right there on the road. But at least we had some info on the situation with the black mist and my two little ghostly friends. Ever since this morning, however, Senel refused to get near me less Walter possess me again and do another prank. Jay... Well, he ignored me altogether. Speaking of which, from the monsters I beat today I earned about a tenth of the debt owed.

While Will and Jay did their own things, I joined Norma and Moses at the pub below the inn. It seemed like a real warm atmosphere, but I knew it was bad I had come down as I was only 17; a minor. To heck if I was only a year underage; I still had my morals!

The three of us sat down at a table and they both asked for drinks. I disagreed against the idea of buying them underage, but Norma chided me. "Geez Onyx, you need to learn to lighten up a little. Break the rules, have some fun! Stop being a goody-goody."

"Whoever said I was a goody-goody? I'm far from it!" I countered back, but she ignored me and they ordered me a drink against my will. Moses ended up holding my arms behind my back while Norma slowly tipped the liquid into my mouth. _'Though it isn't so bad being up against Moses like this... ACK! Stop with those thoughts! Bad Onyx, bad!'_ I choked the first few swallows and Moses released me and laughed.

Norma gave me a smug look, "Not so bad, is it?" I stopped, then took another sip of the margarita.

"...This isn't half bad... Kinda good actually."

"That's the spirit!" She cheered, taking a swallow of her own.

By the time about an hour had passed, both Moses and Norma had already had 3 drinks while I was on my 2nd margarita. That was when the manager saw us. "Hey wait a minute, your minors!" He took out a huge club from beneath the counter and started towards us.

Our eyes widened, "Oh shit, run for it!" We all bolted for the exit, a furious waiter on our tail. When we got outside, we just ran a block and lost him. By the time we were at the fountain, we were out of breath and laughing our heads off.

"Haha! That was fun!" Moses laughed.

"But we didn't even pay..." I said, a little concerned.

Norma waved it off, "Relax, I left a tip. He oughta be happy we didn't just bolt on the check."

"We did though, Norma..."

"Well, his loss." I glared at her, but she merely ignored me. We spit our own ways towards home, Moses to the camp and Norma and me to the inn. Though we had to sneak back upstairs, we finally got to our rooms and went to sleep soon after that.

Little did any of us know that someone had gone off in the middle of the night, and hadn't come back...

_Was that fight scene ok? I tried to make it good and show every character at least once. And to calm your fears, no, Onyx doesn't have a thing for Moses. She just constantly blushes and stuff because he never wears a shirt and she doesn't have a boyfriend; so she hasn't had much progress in the guy department. Anyway, please review, and see you in chapter 11!_


	11. Where's Harriet?

_Yo. Nice to know people have been reading my fanfic a lot; in fact about 600 people have! Thanks a bunch! Since it's snowing here in Washington, I'll update my chapter now. Hope you all like a little snow with your chapter!_

I woke up slowly, my eyes letting light wash over me and I winced at the bright sunlight. I looked over at the clock: **9:06**. I turned over and said, "5 more minutes..."

About 45 minutes later, I was still asleep when someone knocked on the door. I stayed asleep. They knocked again, this time sounding impatient. I didn't even stir. This time, they slammed the door and I fell out of bed. "WHAT THE FRIGGIN' HELL!?!?" I screamed, waving my arms and twisting the sheets even more.

I looked over at the door and sighed, getting to my feet and shuffling to the door. I opened it without even seeing who it was and murmured, "Hello?"

"Onyx!" I opened my eyes and saw Shirley in front of me, hair a little frizzy.

I stood up straight and rubbed the sand out of my eyes, "Yeah...?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Have you seen Harriett?"

I gave her a confused look, as her voice had a nervous and or desperate feel to it. "No... What's going on Shirley?"

"Harriett's gone! None of us can find her!" I blinked, then I remembered her reading something about a book when I was waiting for the croissants at the bakery to cook yesterday.

_"What are you doing, Harriett?" I asked, looking at the book she was reading at the stairs of one of the shops._

_"I'm busy looking where the miniature blue-backed ice drake is." She said, turning the page and scanning a page of the index._

_I blinked, "Dragons? Why do you ask?"_

_"I want to show it to Will so he can actually pay attention to me." Her voice held a tint of anger as she turned to a different section._

_I_ _looked at the huge pile of books she had and asked, "...You mind if I help you?"_

_"Feel free." She said, flipping to a different page. I smiled and picked up a book called Dragons: a History._

_About 15 minutes later I finally sound something. "Hey Harriett, this what your looking for?" I showed her a small section of a tiny drake about the size of a dog with a large blue stripe down the length of its spines and scales._

_She nodded and when I gave her the book, she read over it quickly. Her face brightened and she smiled, "Yes, this is it!" She picked up the rest of the books into a neat stack with the one under her arm. "Thanks Onyx! I'll go give these back to Musette."_

_I took the stack that she had just gotten a hold of and said, "Don't worry, I'll return these. You go do your thing."_

_She grinned at me and after waving, took off in the direction of the bandit camp. I turned around and went the other way, glad I was of some help..._

"I think I know where she is. Yesterday she was reading about some drake she was going to go find for Will; the book said it was in the polar region of the Fallen Land. Does that mean anything to you?"

Shirley stopped, then answered, "That's the ice monument of the Quiet lands; it's got to be!" She pulled at my hand before I stopped her. "Wait a second, let me get changed first."

She nodded, "I'll see you at the park!" She then took off down the stairway and out of sight.

I turned and rushed to strip myself of my PJ's and into my new clothes, 'Park? Why there...?'

As I ran down the path to the park with Walter's bag in my hand, the said Ferines floated by me in a casual pose, "What's the rush, Onyx?"

"Harriett's missing and went off to the Quiet lands by herself."

He stopped for a moment, remembering when he was stopped from attacking the group when the Merines pulled him away, then shook of the thought and continued, "Bad place for a civilian to go; I'll go back and get Fenimore." Walter stopped and glided over towards the fountain.

I looked back for a moment, then turned around again to turn into the park, _'It's probably what Maurits said about those records... I wonder if they're in the right one.'_

I turned the corner and saw the group at a huge door against the stone wall, _'How'd **that** get there?'_ I thought as I yelled, "Sorry, I'm late!"

Jay looked from me to the gate again, "Shall we go now?"

"Yeah... The sooner Harriett's safe the better." Will said, somewhat more to himself then anything else. We all walked in, and I felt like I had just taken a step into the Death Star. Everything looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, the silvery metal on the walls shiny and solid.

We all stepped onto a huge platform, then the whole thing went down like an elevator. I saw lines of lights pass us and disappear into the darkness above. Soon, we hit sunlight again, and I looked over in awe as what seemed like a whole different environment met my eyes. Plains everywhere, with trees this way and that and surrounded by water. The group started walking and I followed after them.

About an hour and 4 fights with random monsters later, we came to a huge icy monument, snow starting to fall around us. I suddenly felt the immense cold and crunch of snow, but my heart soared. It was snow! I loved snow! I looked at a snow bed and a cruel grin came onto my face.

I grabbed a handful, packed it into a ball, and threw it straight at Moses' head. Bull's-eye! He shivered, then turned around only to get another one in the face. "Ack! Cold cold cold!"

I smirked, picking up another and throwing it at Norma, though this one hit her shoulder. She looked back at me, then a smile lit up her face. She threw one at Moses, while he threw one at both of us; they hit heads on.

I then saw Jay and an even more malevolent look was place on my face. I motioned the two to be quiet, pointing at Jay, then slowly snuck up to him, careful not to make crunching sounds by stepping in his already-made footprints. I then grabbed a huge handful of snow, grabbed his collar and stuffed it down the back and front of his shirt.

Almost instantly he yelled in shock and ran around, jumping a few times and frantically trying to get the melting snow out of his clothes. Moses and Norma burst out in uproarous laughter, while Senel, Shirley, Grune and Chloe looked behind and after seeing what just happened, burst into laughter. I grinned and laughed, falling into a snow bank and after seeing the dirty look he gave me laughed even harder.

He then got a look of his own and instead of acting mature and continuing on, picked up a snowball and threw it at my face. Then after that, the entire group except Will (he was hiding behind Geit) went into an all out snowball fight. Chloe nailed Senel a couple of time while Shirley and Senel were defending each other by throwing snowballs at the others. Jay and me were chasing each other down and stuffing their faces into the snow and Moses hah just thrown Norma face first into a huge snow bank.

By the time Will had knocked every person in the head, all of us were inside; either soaked, freezing or shivering, almost all of us all of the above. That exception was me, as I wasn't as cold as the others. Having a huge coat was _great_.

"I-its k-kinda c-c-cold in here y'all..." Moses stuttered, rubbing his arms and breathing out a huge puff of warm air. All of nodded and Chloe sneezed.

We finally got to the end and saw a small form clutching a figure. It was Harriett, with a huge coat and a small drake sleeping in her arms. She was asleep, but besides being a little pale she was alright.

"Harriett!" We all yelled and ran to her, looking over her. Will took the girl into her arms and felt her forehead, then sighed in relief. "It's ok, she's fine. She was probably only here about an hour or two, so she doesn't have hypothermia." He looked down at the small drake in her arms and smiled a little to himself. Though I didn't know it, that was the same drake she had tried to catch before she broke her hairpin.

I looked at the small drake and smiled at myself as how incredibly cute it was.

We then heard Senel's call, "Hey, I think I found something..."

We all looked over at him and went below the platform in the end and saw a bunch of old books and scrolls, extremely dusty and fading ink on the cover.

"I think we found those archives that Maurits was talking about..." I said, though I knew everyone was thinking it.

Chloe gently picked up one of them and looked at the cover, brushing off some of the dust to see the title. "Exactly how old are these Will?" She asked curiously.

He looked at some of the scrolls and looked at a tiny indentation at the bottom, "Looking at this one, which is about the oldest thign here, it's about 5000 years old..."

"5000 years!?" Moses, Norma and I shouted. "That's even older then the date of the Cataclysm!"

"Yes, well these were not done by any Ferines. Judging from the markings and style of writing, I'd say that most of these are from about 2500 years ago, back in the time where the Shaymins were around." Jay nodded and looked through one of the old books at the date.

"What the hell is a Shaymin?" I asked, looking at a book whose title was _The Invention of Parley_.

"I'm not surprised you all don't know. The Shaymins were supposedly the first eres users after the Ferines in ancient times, although theirs were mostly used to summon creatures and medicine making." Norma said, fingering one that had the muscle and skeleton anatomy of a galf.

"How do you know this Norma?" Will asked curiously.

"Teach sometimes told me about the ancient history of the Legacy, and the Shaymins were a good part of it." She said, blowing dust off of the books.

"But what does any of this have to do with do with Onyx, Walter and Fenimore?" Moses asked, flipping through a book filled with text and maps of rivers and camps.

"I don't know, but the Shaymins were very close with the spirits that lived on the Legacy, so these books and scrolls may hold some valuable information on our little problem." Jay said, piling a few up into a stack and looking around for a chair or something to hold them. "We should bring some of these back to Will's house. There has to be something in these...

So Jay had us look over all of them and place them into stacks, some that contained magic and things like that in one pile and putting the other ones pertaining to nothing in particular. I took all of these up to the top floor and placed them in a pile while Harriett stayed near, still asleep with the drake in her lap. No monster dared come by with all this racket though; best stay out of it in their opinion.

I wiped my forehead and looked over the now lowered number of books, but noticed there were still about a hundred books or so in the pile. I sweatdropped, "How the heck are we going to take all these with us?" I asked myself, scratching my head confused.

"Not to mention we still have to go check out that mysterious figure and the black mist." Senel sighed.

The group were baffled until Grune spoke up, looking through a book, "What old books... It would be fun for some of us to read them, but not for the others... They'd just be bored."

Senel stood up, "That's it! Why don't we just split up and while half of us search through them the other half will search out this mist?"

"That's a great idea! Senel, Grune, you two are genius'!" I said happily.

"Ok then, since both Jay and Norma know the most about it, they'll stay behind with Onyx while the rest of us look for that figure and the mist." Will said with finality.

I straightened up in confusion, "Wait a minute, why do I have to stay?"

"Because if we do find something, wouldn't Fenimore and Walter want to be the first ones to know?" Jay asked grabbing a few books.

I nodded a little disappointed, "Ah well, I guess that's true..." I grabbed a couple of books and placed a few scrolls in the pocket of my coat. The rest filled their pockets and Chloe pulled out a white bottle, the group surrounded by a white mist that repelled any fiends.

By the time we got back up out of the structure, Walter and Fenimore were waiting outside for me. They looked over our forms as I asked, "Where the heck were you?"

"We tried to follow you but we can't go into the Fallen lands. Nerifes' blessing does not reach there." Walter explained.

Fenimore's eyes caught the books we all had, "Where did you get those?"

"These? They were in the archives Maurits was talking about."

Fenimore gave me a confused look before Walter sighed, "We'll tell you later."

We then started after the group, running ahead to continue to Will's house, and without me knowing it a sealed red scroll with ancient tags suck over the opening was dropped onto the ground. A pair of feat stopped in front of it, then picked it up. The figure that picked it up and looked over the ancient kanji that lined the scroll. Small grey eyes scanned over the text before his features changed to a cruel grin and he turned away, blond hair whipping around and disappeared.

_Oooooh... Kind of a cliffy! Anyway, hope you review, and I'll see you next chapter!_


	12. Research

_So we've come back to the story, ne? Sorry for the late update, but a serious issue popped up in my story and I have to think about how to get over the roadblock. Anyway, I can't tell you, as the secret will probably be in this or the next chapter, so be patient. Hope you enjoy!_

I felt my eyes open slowly and saw a small table in front of me as well as a couch. I looked over the room before bringing a hand to shield my eyes, "What time is it…?" I slowly rolled over and looked off the edge of the seat and found myself looking off of a sofa into Will's place. I sat up slowly and saw Harriett in the kitchen, preparing something on the counter.

"It's about time you woke up; you sleep like the dead!" She commented when she looked up at me.

I blinked slowly and rubbed my eyes, "Ugh… Why 'm I at Will's place?" I asked groggily.

"From what Will and Senel told me, you passed out." That I didn't remember… "Apparently, you were busy talking to Moses and Norma when you ran into a flagpole."

I sweatdropped and laughed at my own stupidity, "Well that's me for you… I've done that before, except it was a glass door."

Harriett smiled, "Anyway, after Will took- more like dragged- you here, he examined the ice drake and the rest are bringing the rest of those manuscripts here." She finished what she was doing and brought over a few sandwiches, "Here, have one."

I rubbed my eyes to get the remaining sand out of them and thankfully took one. As I was about to take a bite, I noticed a lot of yellowish liquid oozing out of the sides. "…Hey, Harriett?"

"Yes?"

"…Exactly _how much_ Dijon mustard did you put in these…?"

"…A lot?"

'_No wonder it smelt toxic…'_ "Ok, Harriett; usually people don't like a lot of mustard on their sandwiches, it overpowers the flavor of the other ingredients." I pointed out, scraping much of the mustard off of the bread, put it back together again and bit off a bite.

"I thought that you were supposed to put a lot on." She commented, biting into a sandwich.

"Well some people like it spicy, but most don't. A little goes a long way… Great job otherwise." _'Who would have known peanut butter, mustard and cranberries would have gone so well together?'_

Sooner or later, the rest of the gang came in and deposited the books and scrolls, many releasing a huge cloud of dust. "Afternoon Otto! Like your little nap?" Norma asked, dusting off her clothes and plopping down on a couch.

"Somewhat yes… When are you guys leaving anyway?" I asked as Moses took the chance to plop down next to me.

"Beats me… You'll have to ask Will that. I think its sometime tomorrow morning." Senel said, standing nearby.

"Great… Better kiss any chance of not having to wake up with people pounding on my door goodbye." I remarked sarcastically, resting my feet on the table and the more mature ones of the group glared at me.

"Onyx, can you please remove your feet from my table?" Will asked patiently.

I shrugged. "Sure thing." Instead, I put on some shoes and put them back onto the table. Norma and Moses grinned and took after my example.

Chloe sighed to herself, "She's a bit of a bad influence, isn't she?"

Jay nodded and flipped through one of the books. "Did you just notice this?"

Later on, all of the books were on the various tables along with half of the floor space in Will's living room. He ended up having to move much of the plants he had inside back into his room, which was cluttered enough as it is. It brought the song _Welcome to the Jungle_ to my mind as I peeked inside... I peeked through one of the old, dusty books in a pile downstairs, but when I saw many different… a'hem, _acrobatic positions_ on a few pages I slammed the book shut, my face beet red.

When Shirley was curious enough to ask why my face was such a bright crimson color, I squeaked and threw the book across the room, going straight through the back of Walter's head. He swung around and glared harshly at me, but then his façade changed into a confused one as my face took a fearful turn and I rushed upstairs and hid in a closet.

When I worked up enough courage to go back downstairs to find the cursed devil's spawn, my face went white as a sheet. Of all of the damned people in the world, why did it have to be _Grune_ to find that… thing!?

"Oh… That looks like fun!" I sweatdropped as I gently plucked the book out of her hands.

"Erm… Grune. These kind of… exercises are meant to be done with a couple in a dark room with a bed. You can't really do them right now."

But my explanations were ignored as she pointed at a _very detailed_ diagram of somebody's... body part in which the use of Viagra has a part in. "What's that, Onyx? Is it a kind of squash?"

I felt my face warm up and I slowly closed the book, gently setting it down as I patted Grune on the shoulder. "Sometimes Grune… You're too innocent for your own good…" I zoned out and didn't even notice the tall woman take the book and show Jay and Norma… God, how I would have wished for a camera…

Erm… After that little incident with the ancient book of smut I found, Jay decided to only let a few of the books out at a time while the rest were in a room with easy access. The group helped out with the reading for an hour or two, but had to go for the trip to the Crystal Forest tomorrow. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes after reading through a few of the books. I looked over at Norma, who fell asleep on the book of medicinal herbs she was searching through.

"Ugh… I hate research…" I said suddenly, slamming my head onto the table with a small thud.

Fenimore drifted over near me, looking over my shoulder at my tired expression. "You tired, Onyx?"

"What do you think? I stayed up half the friggin' night on research of all things." I replied, annoyed and making imaginary circles on the table with my finger. I turned to face her, watching her out of the corner of my eyes. "Where's Walter anyway?"

"Oh, he's wandering around the town. …At least I think he is who knows." She shrugged and I turned my head again, relaxing and closing my eyes. I heard the door open sometime later and I looked around to see Jay walk in. "Morning…" I called, raising an arm before letting it fall onto the table again.

"Good morning. Find anything yet?" I shook my head and he sighed, plopping down into the now dusty brown sofa.

"Tch… How troublesome." He sighed. "Anyway, have you read anything about 'strange creatures'?"

I raised an eyebrow and rubbed at my eyes, "What do you mean?"

"I've heard a rumor that there's a unicorn somewhere deep in the Crystal Forest; though I doubt it's true… They've been said to be extinct for hundreds of years; last seen thousands of years ago." He said, leaning on one of the arms of the couch.

"Unicorns? Are you serious, or just plain stupid?" He glared at me, but I simply shrugged it off. "Forget about it; continue." I waved my hand for good measure.

"Anyway, I wanted to postpone our research and check it out tomorrow, seeing as how the others won't be here for another few days." He continued, gazing out the window at the nearby mansion with cast iron gates.

"Tomorrow, huh?" I said with a shrug. "Fine by me… And to answer your question I did read something about them." I flipped open one of the books as he slowly walked over to look over my shoulder.

I turned to a small etching of a white, green haired unicorn with a spiraled horn, furred hooves and a long tail similar to a lion's. "It says here, _the unicorn, is known to only be approached by pure maidens and those in need. It's legendary for its healing powers, known to cure disease and serious injuries. It is said that it can see spirits of the next world and that it brings back souls from the underworld_…"

The two of us looked at the words again in silence, rereading in case the two of us read wrong. Then, just as Jay was about to speak, the front door slammed open. Jay and I whirled around to see Norma waltz in with a basket of baked goods. "Yatta, who wants a pastry!?" She asked cheerfully, before looking at our glares in surprise. "…What, did someone die or somethin'?"

"Not yet, at least…" I mumbled to myself, veinpopping all the while.

Norma strolled towards us as Jay continued his train of thought. "As I was saying before Norma oh so graciously interrupted..."

"HEY!"

"…If the rumors about the unicorn really are true… Then odds are it would be in the Crystal Forest. Not to mention its healing abilities…" He murmured more to himself then anyone else, placing his hand under his chin in thought.

"Wait a minute, unicorns? I thought they went extinct years ago!" Norma interrupted again.

"That might be true, but I've heard rumors of a sighting of one near the Crystal Forest recently. Anyway, if what this book says is true, unicorns can bring back the dead." Jay finished.

Norma stayed silent, looking at the book for herself, "But… if they could bring back people, then…"

I spoke up, finishing their thoughts for them, "…Then we'll be able to revive Walter and Fenimore."

_PLOT TWIST! They're coming baaack! XD I have to say, it too me quite a while to come up with a way to bring those two back. I have to thank my brother for the idea. Just think of the unicorn in Tales of Symphonia for a reference of the one in the book. Anyway, please review!_


	13. Battle at Crystal Forest

_So here's another installment of Good Help is Hard to Find! Hope you all enjoy!_

_Also, I don't own Tales of Legendia or the NumaNuma remix done by Maeken Trance project… Muahaha._

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After that minuscule incident, the walk was pretty quiet. The others mostly just stayed silent and Jay absolutely refused to look at me. _'Geez, can't they take a joke?'_ I thought to myself with a rolling of the eyes. I continued on with my rampaging feelings until I caught sight of the Crystal Forest.

My eyes widened at the shear beauty of it. Everything was made of blue and violet crystal; trees rising with huge tendrils reaching out to the entrance. I could plainly see huge spikes protruding from it also. The shear magnificence of it all caught me off guard and I inhaled sharply. "Wow…"

"Pretty, isn't it?" Fenimore replied behind me, looking at the structures in closer detail. I nodded, a stupid grin glued onto my face.

"I'd advise you to be on your guard… There's tons of crystalanturas around." Jay advised all of us.

Norma sweatdropped while I slowly asked, "W…What are those?" I almost didn't want to ask.

"Basically… Giant tarantulas made of crystal." Jay responded, and one could hear my screech of horror and fright throughout the caverns.

"**T-T-TARANTULAS!?!?"** I screeched, hands on my head and summoning my scythe, I clutched it like a lifeline. **"Oh-my-god-I'm-gonna-die!!!"** I was mostly alright with spiders, but when they were large and deadly spiders, such as a brown recluse or a tarantula, then I was scared shitless of them.

"Calm down you moron… It's not the end of the world." Walter muttered, floating ahead and looking for any sign for monsters.

"They usually wouldn't hurt people, but under certain circumstances when treasure hunters rob nests…" Jay glared at Norma while she stuck her tongue out at him. "Then you must worry. Just don't scream so much when you see one." He proceeded to walk past me and move on deeper into the forest, the only light glistening off the path was the sunlight shining off the azure-indigo gems.

I sweatdropped, then Norma smiled beside me, "Don't worry, he's just _embarrassed_…" She snickered at the faint pink tint on his cheeks as he stomped faster.

The three of us continued to look for clues in the huge cave; Fenimore and Walter searching in different areas. I searched over the sides of the small tunnels at the bottom of the forest for a sign of some kind of movement other then darkness, but found nothing. No luck with Jay or Norma either. So while the two Ferines were away, the three of us decided to eat some sandwiches while we waited.

I looked up at my current companions and softly asked, "Hey guys?"

Norma looked up at me with a mouth full of food and muffled out, "Meah?" Jay gave her a look that said, _'Chew your food moron.'_

"...Lets say, the unicorn does exist and Wally and Fenimore are revived… Then what? Won't I have to go home?" My bangs covered the sad eyes I wore.

"What's so bad about it?" Norma asked after swallowing her bite. "Didn't you _want_ to go home anyway?"

"…Yeah, but… I don't really want to go home. I really love being around you guys; you're my friends. Besides…" I shook off my sad expression for a cheerful one and smiled at Jay, "I haven't paid you back for that knife I lost."

The two gazed at me for a moment, then Norma clapped me in the back. "Nah, I doubt you'd be leaving us very soon. You'll be around for a while!" We all finished our sandwiches just about then. "Besides… What are the odds of finding a real unicorn anyway?"

Just after she said that, I felt something cold rush into my body as Walter possessed me. I felt his voice intermingle with my own and speak, "Follow me; I think I found something…" The two rushed after me as I felt my legs move faster then usual and rush to an open area with a huge drop on one side.

Walter's presence left as I gasped at what I saw. A tremendously huge dragon with dark mauve and golden scales, a red frill lining its back and a fish-like green tail was closing in on a white creature of some sort. On closer inspection the creature was a white horse with green hair, long furred hooves and a sharp twisted horn atop its forehead. Its shimmering white coat dulled under the deep red marks that marred its fur. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.

On my side I could hear Norma and Jay gasp, while on the other I saw Fenimore rushing towards us, a frantic look on her face. Norma and Jay got out their weapons as I exclaimed, "If that dragon kills the unicorn, then there goes our only chance of reviving Fenimore and Walter!" An uneasy feeling hit my gut as the dragon slowly turned its gaze towards us, its dark green eyes glittering as it opened its huge jaws and roared at us. The crystal walls shook as it took a step towards us.

"Now or never, let's go!" I yelled, and so it began.

The dragon lashed out at Norma, but I got in front of her and blocked it with my scythe, pushing both of us back some steps. Jay took the opportunity to try and slash at its huge forearm, but narrowly dodged as the dragon's claw narrowly missed Jay's torso.

He slid back into position as I ran forwards to slash at the huge creature's neck, but I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me. The dragon's claw slapped me away and I hit the wall hard, sliding down it and coughing. "Ugh… What the hell is that thing made of!? We're barely making a difference!"

Norma got an idea and quickly searched through her bag while Jay spun on his hands and attacked the dragon's belly. She found a spyglass and peered through it at the dragon.

"Hurry up Norma…!" Jay yelled as he missed being decapitated by the dragon's jaws.

"Got it! Its weakness is water!" Norma called and putting away the spyglass starting casting a spell.

I shook my head and slowly got to my feet. I then charged at the dragon and slashed heavily against it, opening up a spot for Jay to attack, and he sent his dagger into the ground, yelling out, "Wraith Ice!" A huge line of ice slammed into the dragon's underside and he quickly retrieved the knife, leaping on top of its head and kicking it a few times afterwards.

I spun in a circle quickly and slashed at its side, the sharp blade slowly cutting into its scales. However the dragon recovered, and before I could make a mark it snapped its jaws at me, slamming its head into my chest and sending me towards the edge.

"Onyx!" Norma screamed as she performed a spell. Huge rays of light hung above the drake and shot through it, cutting through parts of its scales and sending a roar of pain reverberating through the cavern.

I slowly tumbled onto the sleek floor with a crash, and stopped sliding a few feet from the edge. I slowly pushed myself into a sitting position before coughing violently and holding on to my side as a sharp pain tore through me. "Rgh…!" I looked back at Norma and Jay; Norma looked exhausted, while Jay now sported a few gashes along his arms and side. The dragon had only some scratches and burns along its flank, along with a torn wing. I peered behind me towards the edge of the small ridge and a thought came to mind. _'That's it!'_

I looked back towards the others and Norma quickly healed both of us, "You ok Onyx?" Norma called out, already starting to chant another spell.

"Norma, I have an idea how to defeat this thing!" I yelled back, slowly getting up and swallowing a lemon gel, ran towards her. When I got to her I quickly said, "We have to get that thing close to the edge of the cliff and knock it off. With that broken wing it won't be able to survive the fall."

She quickly understood and swallowed a pineapple gel. She was beginning to perform a rallying spell for us when I ran towards Jay and yelled, "Jay! We need to get it to the edge of the cliff and knock it off!" I slashed at it while Jay stepped back and swallowed a miracle gel.

He quickly got back into position fighting while I tried to push it towards the edge. It seemed to notice it was getting closer to the ledge, so it opened its mouth and let out a huge blast of dark fire. It felt as if hot needles had pricked me up my arms and legs and screaming, I fell to the ground marred with scratches.

Jay attacked at it ferociously and slowly pushed it towards the edge, inch by inch. Norma started chanting her last spell as I looked up slowly. I could feel rivulets of blood dripping down my face from a gash on my temple as I grimaced from the pain. I saw Jay looked down at me and yell, "Get up Onyx!"

I slowly got to my feet and picking up my scythe got ready to charge. As Norma's spell started to take for I started pounding my feet towards the great dragon. I saw a triangle of light raise the dragon into the air and for a moment time seemed to stand still. I charged, and with a yell I slashed at the huge creature and it sailed over the edge; down to the darkness.

For a moment, none of us moved, then Norma started cheering and pumping her arms into the air, "We beat it, yahoo!" Jay smirked while I smiled. The three of us celebrated out victory with cries of joy.

Soon afterwards we slowly approached the unicorn, its coat a more crimson color then before. It turned its horned head towards us, green eyes twinkling mysteriously, _"Approach…"_ It was a female's voice, and reminded me of Grune's in it's purity.

The three of us slowly approached and before Norma could start chanting a healing spell the unicorn spoke, _"Please do not try. I have lived a full life and am ready to go to the afterlife."_ We gave each other sad looks, then turned back to her. She looked directly at me, _"I believe you need help, do you not?"_

I nodded, "Yes… Two spirits need to come back to life, and I have to get back home." I slowly said, almost relaxing in her presence. But I couldn't stop thinking that this was it… That this would be the end of my adventures with the others…

"_Do not worry… I know that you do not wish to leave your companions so soon, and I also know that much more is ahead of you before your adventures are complete."_ She looked behind me, and I knew by the cold presence behind me that the unicorn was looking at Walter and Fenimore. _"So you are the two this girl wishes to help… You have a certain presence about you." _The two looked at each other confused, then back at her. _"Do not worry… You find out your destiny for yourselves."_

The unicorn closed her eyes and a bright light surrounded her horn. A rainbow hue seemed to appear on the horn as the glowing light started to surround the two Ferines. The two looked startled for a moment, then the rainbow hues got lighter and lighter until they were so bright that one could not look directly at them. The light flashed twice, then it seemed to fade slowly.

When we all looked back, there were two figures in the light. One could see that the marks and slashes in their clothes were gone. The cold presence was gone, along with the scars that accompanied them. When the light slowly faded and we all saw them in the light, I knew then that I wasn't the only one that could see them…

They really were back… Walter and Fenimore were alive once more.

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_(sniffles) I loved writing that chapter… I can't believe this point in the story would come so fast, but I'm glad it's here. Just know the story is far from over. Thank `you to those who have stayed with me for so long. It could have not gotten to this point without your help! One last request…_

_**Please review and tell me how you liked it!**_


	14. Shopping!

_So here's the 14__th__ chapter of Good Help is Hard to Find. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I only own Onyx along with Walter's and Fenimore's new outfits. All others belong to Tales of Legendia, Legendary Frog's LotR flash series, and the hotroot soup from Brian Jacques' Redwall series._

As the glow faded and the only light illuminating the cavern was reflected off of the crystals in the upper part of the forest, everyone stared at the two Ferines whom just a few minutes ago didn't seem to exist.

Fenimore clasped her face, then arms and dress before shrilly saying, "I can't believe it… I'm really alive again!"

Norma shook off her surprise and the two girls went to hug each other in happiness. "FenFen, you're really alive!"

"I missed you guys so much!"

As the two began to chat among themselves, Walter was still in utter disbelief, tightening his hand into a fist and relaxing it again. He summoned a small black teriques, which fluttered around him before vanishing again.

I looked over at him and grinned, "Welcome to the living guys!"

The two Ferines looked over at me, Fenimore beaming while Walter wore a small smirk. Before I knew it Fenimore hugged me, practically yelling "Thank you!" over and over again. I sighed and pushed her away, "It's fine, really. Now please do me a favor and get off me."

Fenimore stopped and grinned. Jay looked over at Walter and asked, "You don't really seem that happy to be alive…"

Walter looked over at him for a moment before replying, "…I never got to humiliate you Orerines completely." He pouted, "I only did one prank…"

Jay sweatdropped, _'That's the reason…?'_ Norma laughed at Water's response and draped an arm around his. I never really realized his height until now. "Go figure you'd want something like that!"

Walter glared at her, veinpopping all the while, "Get off…" One of his hands started to glow the dark violet color of his eres.

"Relax Wally—"

"**Wally?"** Walter's voice grew annoyed at the nickname.

Norma whispered into his ear, "Pssst! If you really want to prank Senny, me and Red'll help!"

"Alright, stop scheming you two." Fenimore said while Jay and I gathered a few gels and passed a few around. I looked back at the spot where the unicorn was, but she was gone. The only thing that remained was a clear crystal, rainbows sparkling through the different surfaces, reflecting a unique fractal-like light onto the ground. Fenimore walked over slowly to the spot and picked up the crystal, turning in her hands and gazing down at the lights. "What… is this?" She asked while Norma rushed over to inspect it.

Norma plucked it from her hands and held it up to the light against Fenimore's protests, "Hmm… Clear crystal substance, reflects light into rainbows, purple color inside it… This looks like a moonstone."

"And how exactly would you know that Norma?" Jay asked, uninterested.

"I read it in a book JJ, duh…" She replied with the same amount of sarcasm in his voice.

"What exactly is a moonstone?" Both Fenimore and I asked curiously, stepping closer.

Walter came over and took it from Norma's grasp, holding it in his hands for a moment, "It's a crystal that's known to increase the power of crystal eres; often costs about 25k to buy one. I'm not surprised you don't now about them."

Jay gave him a skeptical look, and Walter returned it with a flat stare, "The Internet; don't ask." Though Jay had a distinct feeling that this 'Internet' had something to do with himself, Moses and a candlelit dinner, but he didn't push it. That blond was one psychotic SOB most of the time.

Fenimore took it back from Walter's grasp and stared at it for some time while I quickly swallowed a miracle gel. Hmm… tastes a lot like Skittles. "A' hem… Anyways, as much as it's nice having our little chit-chat, we have to go back, don't we?" I asked while leaning on one leg.

Norma yawned and searched her bag, "Yeah… I'm tired too Otto. Hey, you have any gels?" I sighed to myself and searched my bag for a lemon gel. I tossed it to her and she slurped it down, then cringed. "Geez, why a lemon gel Otto?"

"If you didn't want it you should have said so. Besides, I'm saving my elixir and miracle gels. Or would you rather have a scallop gel?" I asked her with narrowed eyes.

Walter held his hand to his forehead, "Kids… Why do I even bother…?"

"You'll get used to them, I guess." Jay responded with a shrug.

Walter gave him an exasperated look. If I wasn't mistaken, you are still a child yourself."

Norma came up from behind and elbowed him in the arm, "You're not much older than us though…" She replied smugly.

Walter backed away from her and exclaimed, "Am not!"

I stepped up happily, "Are too!"

"Am not!" His voice got louder.

"Are too!" Norma replied happily.

Fenimore sweatdropped to herself. _'I know where this is going…'_

"Am NOT!" He yelled angrily.

"Are TOO!" We both cheered.

"ARE NOT!" He yelled.

"ARE TOO!" The two of us screamed in unison.

Walter threw up his hands in annoyance, "Ugh! You two are hopeless!"

I nodded at him while Norma grinned, "Damn straight, buddy!"

"I don't see why I should listen to a 15 year old chick like you." Walter retorted annoyed.

"Hey! I'm _16_, thank you! And you have no reason to talk since you're…!" Norma thought to herself a moment. "You're… …Um, how old are you exactly?" I sweat dropped.

"I'm 19... And according to your laws, I'm legally an adult." Walter let a smirk ease it's way onto his face.

"Hey, that still means you're only 3 years older than us; big deal!" Norma retorted.

"Hey, it is a big deal Norma; legally _he_ can drink while the rest of us can't." I cut in with my comment.

Walter gave me a dry look and responded, "I don't drink…"

"Whaaat? Why not?" Norma asked as if it was the weirdest thing in the world.

"Is it that big of a deal? I don't; so what…" The blond shrugged.

"It is SO a big deal! You're able to, yet you choose not to while the rest of us want some! So isn't fair!"

"Well that's your fault, not mine. Maybe if you grew a few feet they'd let you pass…"

"**HEY!!"**

Fenimore laughed to herself as she pocketed the moonstone and started to walk to walk towards the exit with Jay following her example. Norma saw them along with Walter and ran to catch up. I looked over the edge again and muttered to myself, "Aww… That dragon must have had a lot of gald on it too…"

"Onyx, get you're ass over here!" Walter called and I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Coming!" I ran towards the rest of the waiting group. Somewhere down in the bottom of the forest, a newborn unicorn smiled to herself as she happily trotted along to find a place to nap.

BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh

As the five of us journeyed to the top of the Legacy, the two Ferines looked around in the space-age part of the elevator; Walter with an irking expression on his face, Fenimore with one of curiosity. "Wow… This is the elevator in the Legacy that leads to the Quiet lands?"

"Yeah. It leads to the Mirage Palace and the Wings of Light too!" Norma piped up, and soon the two girls were chatting away aimlessly. Walter gave an exasperated sigh as the girls brought him into the conversation. Jay didn't reply about anything, and instead looked forwards while quietly observing the area around him.

I sped up my pace and dug something out of the small tasseled bag Walter gave me. "Oh yeah, Jay! He slowed down as I came side by side with him. I finally found a small case inside it and handed it to him. "Here's 2000 of the gald I owe you, I'd count it again in case I miscounted." I gave him a grin and gulped down an apple gel to soothe my appetite.

Soon after we all arrived in Werites Beacon and were on our way to Will's house, Norma took a peek at Fenimore and Walter, looking them up and down with narrow eyes, "…You two need new clothes, you know that?"

The two Ferines looked over their clothes curiously before Fenimore laughed, "My clothes are fine Norma! Is this just an excuse to go shopping?" Walter just rolled his eyes, but one could clearly see he was trying to hide a smirk.

"No, it isn't. Any person who saw you would freak; you look like a zombie with a huge hole in your dress like that. That or it's a really shallow guy who has a few screws missing in the head." This time, it was Norma who chuckled.

Sure enough, there was a bloodstained hole in her dress just below her bust; not a very good thing… The two guys cleverly covered their blush (mostly Walter) by looking around for the clothes shop.

"Hey, isn't that a place to get some clothes?" I asked, pointing at the place I got my new clothes. The two girls took off for the shop and both guys sighed in relief, having their asses successfully saved. I grinned evilly in their direction and said, "You two owe me a pastry; each." And with that, I took off after the girls, pulling on both of the guy's arms towards the shop.

Inside, Norma was piling a bunch of different outfits on Fenimore as she struggled under the huge load. I couldn't help but laugh, "Have a bit much there Norma? She won't be able to pay for it all, you know…"

Norma grinned, "No problem, we'll just put it all on JJ and Wally's tabs!"

Both guys threw out their arms in anger, "No, we're not!"

I sighed, "Norma, I just paid back some of my debt, now you want to spend it on clothes?"

"…Maaaaaybe…" She looked around the room with a shifty expression. All of us returned it with a dull stare.

Finally, Fenimore fell over from the huge load of clothes and struggled to get out from under the pile, "Help me!"

The four of us took away the clothes and piled them in a neat stack in a fitting room. Fenimore got up and said, "Norma, Do I really need this much? It's only a replacement."

"Well ok then; what are you looking for?" I asked curiously, leaning on one foot.

Fenimore looked down at her clothes and said, "Erm… Maybe something similar to this?"

Norma took her aside, and I briefly heard her talking about her needing a different style. I looked around with an evil smirk slowly creeping its way onto my face. I searched through the pile for a bit and pulled out a very frilly small top with a deep v-neckline. I showed it off to Fenimore with that grin on my face. "Hey Fenimore, how 'bout this?"

By the deep crimson look on her face, I guessed it was a no. I turned around to put it back, but noticed two empty spots in the room. "Where's Walter and Jay?" I asked myself, before shrugging and ignoring it. Better get to work!

BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh

By the time we had finished decking out Fenimore in new clothes, I was starting to daydream. Shopping was boring if you weren't the one doing it, as I soon discovered. "You done yet?" I called impatiently.

Fenimore soon stepped out; wearing the outfit Norma gave her. It wasn't much different than her previous one, except instead of a dress, it was a tight white shirt with clasps down the front and a short skirt. "Do I look alright?"

Norma nodded at her efforts, "Yep, take a look in the mirror."

Fenimore looked herself over and said, "It's a lot easier to move around in…"

I yawned, trying to keep from falling asleep, "You look nice Fenimore; can we pay and go now?"

Fenimore slowly nodded with a small smile. The three of us paid with some of the cash in our pockets (not me, as I handed over my funds to Jay) and left soon afterwards. The three of us looked around the town for a bit for the guys, but couldn't find them. "Where'd they go?"

Norma shrugged, "Who knows… Let's just go back to Teach's place and show off who we just necromized out of heck!" …Necromized? Not my choice of a word, but I guess it works.

I shrugged and we soon paid it out of what we had gotten out of the monsters we slew in the Crystal Forest. We went out and looked around for the guys. "…Where are they? They didn't just up and leave, did they!?" I asked the girls angrily.

"Who knows, we'll catch up to them later. Let's go get some food!" Norma cheerfully said. "Wally can drool over Fenimore later."

At this, Fenimore's face took on a heavy blush. "I-I don't think he'd be _drooling_ Norma…"

"Oh please Fenimore, that guy's like a puppy around you! You have the goods; you just need to read the manual." Norma cheered on with a grin.

Fenimore squeaked and her face turned an even more deep red. Guess she's not so good with the guys…

'_Kind of like me...'_ I thought to myself as I saved her from her predicament, "Hey, lay off a little Norma. They'll get used to it sometime; don't just force them into it." I advised, slinging an arm around Fenimore's shoulders. "Besides, I have a feeling you have a crush on _someone_ in our group, correct?" I wiggled my eyebrows for good measure.

Norma sputtered-- surprised-- then said, "No I don't! There's no way I'd ever like that grumpy shrimp who acts like there's a stick up his ass, Ja--" Almost immediately, she closed her mouth and clasped her hands over it. There was a silence as we all realized she was caught in the trap I had laid out.

I pointed a finger at her, "I knew it! You like Jay, don't you!" _'Yatta, another one bites the dust!'_

She shook her head vigorously, "N-no I don't!" She yelped with a slight red blush on her cheeks. "I have no idea what the heck you're talking about Otto!"

Fenimore's look of embarrassment soon faded away. "Well, who's the one being shy now?"

Norma brought her hands down and looked at us. "…You're gonna be quiet about this, right?"

I gave her a thumbs-up sign and grinned, "Just between the three of us!" _'Well, at least now I confirmed it… Now for a plan.'_ "Now how about some food!?" The three of us cheered as we all walked to the nearby bakery with secrets in the back of our minds.

BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh

As the three of us entered, we immediately saw two familiar figures at the counter picking out some food. _'I know that black ponytail and platinum blond anywhere!'_ "Jay, Walter!" I called out to them, waving my hand in their direction.

As they turned their heads and we approached, I noticed Walter's worn garb had changed as well. He ditched the long cloak thing for a navy cape split down the side and blue slacks, but his white shirt stayed the same. Jay didn't say anything at our entrance, but fully turned around to meet up with us.

"Wha, I thought you weren't gonna get a new outfit Walter." I exclaimed, giving him a look over.

"Well who cares about that, you look good!" Norma glomped him from behind, and it almost seemed as if Jay gave him a dirty look. Fenimore, well… She looked ready to kill her at that moment with lots of swords; pointy swords that glowed with the fires of a thousand evils.

Walter rolled his eyes as he pushed her off, "Get off of me. I never said I wouldn't get new clothes, so I don't see why you're freaking out." He shrugged off her argument and looked over at Fenimore for a moment before returning his gaze to the girls. And to think, the shrimp—"

"Don't call me that." Jay gritted between clenched teeth.

"I'll call you what I want—anyway, to think we were going to treat you all to food. But if you don't want us too…" Walter left the question hanging with a playful look on his face.

Norma and I gaped at him, then Norma narrowed her eyes at him, "You're mean, you know that?"

Walter shrugged, "And you wonder why I tried to kill you."

I gave him a surprised look, "You what!?" Fenimore shot me a look saying, _'We'll tell you later.'_

Norma laughed nervously, "Well that's all past memories, right?" She faltered at the brief silence

Walter gave her an evil look, "Maybe… Maybe not…" He then laughed at her scared expression. "Ha ha; I can't believe you fell for that one! Seriously, I wouldn't go after your throats that easily." He waved his hand, dismissing the issue.

I saw the mild conflict was over, so I went over and called the cook, "Hey, can I have a strawberry pastry and a cheeseburger?" The others took this chance to get in their orders.

Afterwards, the cook brought out my cheeseburger and strawberry pastry, Norma's slice of apple pie, Jay's fish pot bread, Fenimore's tropical pizza and Walter's mabo curry bread and a spicy dog. The five of them all sat at a large table next to the nearby stream eating their meals.

"Yum!" I said as I took a huge bite out of my burger and quickly washing it down with water for another.

"Geez, go figure you have no manners either Onyx…" Jay retorted as he leaned away from my hungry jaws.

"Aw, leave her alone Jay; she just enjoys it…" Norma said cheerfully while Jay gave her a disappointed look.

"You've been hanging out with Moses too much, haven't you?" He asked with a flat stare while eating some of the soup in his bread bowl.

"You have too, admit it!" She argued.

While Jay and Norma were going on about that, Walter and Fenimore were chatting about each other's food. "I could never see why you like spicy food that much; _for god's sake it has enough hot sauce on it!_" Fenimore exclaimed as Walter distributed hot sauce onto his spicy dog in huge globs.

"I always wondered whether Orerines food could be spicier than our shrimp and hotroot soup." He said plainly as the spicy dog was now covered in hot sauce.

"That stuff is so spicy, it's toxic and you know it!" Fenimore argued and winced as he took a bite of the almost unsanitary dog.

Walter chewed a few times, then a small pause took place. All of a sudden, he covered his mouth and yelled in pain, **"OOOWWWWW! HOT HOT **_**HOOOT!!**_**"** He ran out of the bakery yelling in pain. _**"HOOOOOTTT!!"**_ The town's people watched in morbid fascination as he casts a few water spells before diving into the fountain to cool his raging mouth.

We all watched in silence, unable to either laugh their heads off, hide from embarrassment or help the poor guy. We all chose the foremost. The four of us started laughing their heads off, some (like me and Norma) ended up on the floor from laughing so hard. The other two roared with laughter so hard that tears sprouted from their eyes and streamed down their faces.

"**Oh. My. GOD!! **Walter, what an **IDIOT**!!" I roared with laughter, rolling into the table from laughing so hard.

"That was the **stupidest**, most **moronic** thing I have ever seen in my life; and I've seen a lot!" Jay barely yelled out between bouts of laughter.

"I **TOLD** him it was too much hot sauce, and look what he does! **Friggin' idiot!**" Fenimore laughed and tried to be serious about the situation, failing miserably.

"**BWAHAHAHAHA!!" **Norma couldn't even respond because she was laughing so hard. Heck, she almost rolled off into the stream she was laughing so hard.

The best was yet to come, however…

Coming back into their spot was Walter, soaking wet and dripping water, with steam coming out of his mouth. The funny thing was, he had a pleased look on his face, "That was pretty good!" He commented as he promptly sat back down and started eating his meal again.

The group took one look at him, then started roaring in laughter again.

_Wow was that a long one… __Over 3000 words; most so far! You couldn't believe how much fun I had on that last part. And yes, Walter loves spicy food. I have pics of Walter's and Fenimore's outfits on my Deviantart account, so search Bishieluver01 there and you should find them. Hope you all enjoyed it, and don't forget to review if you liked it!_


	15. Arguements

_Ugh… To tell you all the truth, this didn't come out the way I planned. It was supposed to be funny, but it came out dramatic and now my plot's all messed up! ...Well, I'll fix it, somehow... Phew… 15 chapters already, wow… Thanks so much to those who have stayed with me so far on this fanfic; you're the reason I still write this story! Anyways, I'll shut up and let you read, hope you enjoy the latest chapter in __Good Help is Hard to Find_

After the odd occurrence of Walter diving into a fountain with his mouth on fire, we all stopped laughing enough to eat our meals and walk down to Will's place. As the five of us strolled down the street, we all stifled giggles and chuckles as with every step Walter's boots make a _squelch_ sound.

I snickered at Walter's look of annoyance, "Damn it, I'm friggin' soaked…" That as an understatement of course; he was soaked through with drops of water dripping off of the ends of his pale bangs.

"Hehehe… No shit Sherlock!" Norma laughed as Walter blew wet hair out of his face, only to have it fall back over his left eye again. Fenimore and I laughed at his sour look.

Jay just rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. I had a distinct feeling it had to do something with 'Idiot.' or 'Stupid moron.' "If you four are done, we really need to get back with the group." He responded dully.

Suddenly I remembered something about what Walter had said in the restaurant.

"_And you wondered why I tried to kill you."_

Did that mean something might happen between the group and the former-poltergeists when they got there? Darn it, they just got back; they didn't need to die just a few hours later!

As we all stepped up towards Will's place, I noticed Grune's green attire crouched in front of his garden on the side. Was she… gardening?

"Little seedling, nestled in the ground. Go to sleep, grow up safe and sound!" She looked over at us and stood up, "Hello everyone, nice to see you again!" Grune cheerfully answered airily.

Norma waved over at her, "Hiya G-Girl!"

She gazed over at Walter and Fenimore, "Oh, you've brought friends!" She smiled a bit eerily. It was creepy seeing a woman like her act happy and innocent all the time…

Walter leaned back a little as Fenimore greeted herself, "Hi. I'm Fenimore; this is Walter. Nice to meet you… G-Girl." She smiled nervously, not knowing her name.

"Her name's Grune, she's my partner in the Laughing Brigade!" Norma puffed out her chest proudly.

Walter, Fenimore and I couldn't help but tilt our heads to the side in puzzlement, "'Laughing Brigade'?"

Jay shrugged as he walked past, opening the door of Will's house. "It's a long story…"

"Everything seems like 'It's a long story' these days…" I muttered to myself as we entered the house.

After we all entered the house, I noticed everyone was there, the usual people in our group. Senel, Will, Chloe, Moses and Harriett, who was serving what seemed like sandwiches. As Norma and Jay entered, they turned their heads towards our direction. It was almost humorous to see their looks of immense shock when Walter and Fenimore came in after me and Grune. There was a stunned silence as a bite of sandwich fell out of Senel's mouth and fell onto his plate with a light _plop_.

Almost immediately, Moses and Senel stood up and shouted out in shock and alarm. **"YOU!!"**

"**You're supposed to be dead!"** Senel shouted in shock

"**MAOIUHNIRONADINK…!!"** Moses couldn't even speak properly he was stunned.

Walter simply raised an eyebrow at Moses and Senel and shrugged, "What, is it really that hard to believe? If you want I can punch you in the face and see if I'm alive …" That got Senel out of his shock. The two guys glared at each other in hatred.

Shirley looked upright stunned as she slowly walked over to Fenimore, "…Fenimore…?" Fenimore smiled in return and the two girls hugged, happy to have their best friend back.

Jay snorted at Moses' lack of intelligent vocabulary, "I see you're stupid as ever, Moses…"

Moses snapped out of it and looked down at Jay, "Say that again shrimp, I dare ya!"

Will and Chloe were flabbergasted, looking at the Ferines, then each other, then the Ferines again. Will started shaking with an odd look on his face. Chloe scooted away and nervously asked, "…Raynard? Are you alright?"

Will couldn't hold it in any longer, and stopped acting like his other stoic character in Symphonia for his own crazed teachers' pet personality. **"BRILLIANT!!"** He rushed over to Walter and Fenimore, looking them all over in glee. "No signs of decay or decomposing, not pale, vitals obviously acting normally, and not a scratch or a scar on you two!" Will summarized quickly, while everyone else sweatdropped. "Simply fantastic…" He then got a very scary and disturbing look as he held up a syringe and a pair of scissors. "I SIMPLY **MUST** TAKE A SAMPLE!!" He cackled maniacally for good measure.

Chloe, Moses and Senel all held Will's flailing arms back from the two blonds. "That's enough Will…" They said in unison.

Shirley approached Fenimore in shock, but with tears of joy in her eyes, "How did you two…?"

I answered for them. "You al got that note, correct? Well there turned out to be a unicorn in the Crystal Forest—"

Will freaked out again, **"WHAT!? AND I **_**MISSED IT**_ We all, of course, ignored him.

"Anyways, and a dragon attacked it too—"

"_**WHAAAT!?"**_

We all turned on him this time, **"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, **_**SHUT UP ALREADY!!"**_

"A'hem…" I started again, a vein on my forehead ready to pop. "A dragon attacked it, and after a lot of effort, Norma, jay and I defeated it. The unicorn could see Fenimore and Walter as ghosts, so it used its life to revive them." After I finished, there was a short pause as they all took this in.

"Hold up, so these two are alive 'cause some horse with a horn stickin' out of its head brought those two back from bein' stone-cold?" Moses asked, and with his brash speech Jay slapped his forehead.

Fenimore nodded, "Basically, yes…" She grinned at the group, while Walter was preoccupied with glaring at Senel, who easily returned the favor.

Norma noticed this and shook her head, "God, can't you two stay off of each other neck's for once?" She asked both of them, with Chloe and Fenimore noticing it too.

"Why should I? Wasn't he the one who tried to kill us not only in the Mirage Palace, but in the Wings of Light too?" Senel retorted bitterly.

"I only attacked you because, for one reason, you're the one who let the Merines get kidnapped by Vaclav! Not even to mention that it was the Orerines who killed Fenimo—" Walter yelled back, but was interrupted by Fenimore.

"I thought I already told you, it wasn't their fault!" She spoke up.

"Still though…" Senel muttered to himself, "You weren't that strong anyways. Couldn't even defend Shirley either…"

Walter, I guess you could say, snapped, **"You want to take this outside!?"** He yelled angrily.

"**Gladly!"** Senel yelled back as the two guys ran outside, Senel leapt clear across the table he was at, to fight.

The entire room sweatdropped, mostly Fenimore, Chloe and Shirley, "Honestly…"

"I wanna watch!" Norma and Moses shouted happily as they both ran outside to see the spectacle.

"Me too!" I shouted, and ran outside to join them.

Out there, the two guys had dropped off their jackets and were taking punches at each other, none landing… yet. Walter dodged an uppercut and swept his foot underneath Senel's, but the white haired warrior predicted it and leapt over them. The two took socks at each other as the group shuffled outside, spying that a few people were watching other then Norma, Moses and I.

"Go Senel!" Moses yelled.

"Go Walter; pound his face into the ground!" I shouted happily.

"Go Senny and Wally, WOOT!" Norma cried cheerfully.

The two guys briefly looked over at them out of the corner of their eyes. Walter had to turn his head fully because of the heavy bangs that fell over his left eye, and Senel took this chance to punch him in the face. He slammed into the tree, sliding down it heavily. Senel looked down at him as he spoke angrily, "You of all people should know how much I care about Shirley; who cares of she's the Merines!?"

Walter glared at him angrily before retorting, "You were the one who originally came to the village the Merines and Stella were staying in and caused Vaclav's forces to destroy it!" He immediately jumped onto his hands and kicked Senel in the face, sending him flying over the fence, sending a few watching pedestrians running away. As Senel got to his feet, Walter used the fence as leverage to leap up and send a flying kick downwards towards him, barely missing as Senel quickly rolled out of the way. The two attacked each other, throwing punches in whenever they could.

Shirley, Chloe and Fenimore watched in horror as the two guys punched each other in the chest at the same time and sent each other into the dirt. "Stop it you two!" Shirley and Fenimore yelled.

"Stop it Coolidge, Walter! This is pointless and you know it!" Chloe shouted at the two of them as they got up again and started the cycle over again.

As the two guys ignored them, raging thoughts of the other's wrong doing's flew through their heads at full speed, further enraging them and giving them more purpose to punch the other into the ground. As Senel thought about all of the times that Walter had tried to kill them, thoughts of seeing Fenimore's dying form on the Alter filled his head with hatred on top of Senel's interfering with him protecting the Merines.

Senel and Walter both fought ferociously, them both getting hits in only for the other to get up after them. As Walter gave a ferocious kick to Senel knocking him into the wall, he dodged the Ferines' punch which made an imprint in the wall. Senel took the chance to punch him in the face again, but missed another hit as Walter ducked down and swept his foot under Senel's, sending him crashing into the ground. Luckily, Senel rolled away before Walter could stomp on his beaten torso and gave him another suck on the chest.

By this time, Norma, Moses and I stopped looking at the fight in excitement and saw how harsh the blows they were giving each other had been. "Alright Walter, Senel, that's enough you two!" Moses shouted at them, but they ignored him.

"Hey, cut it out you idiots!" Norma yelled.

The two guys fought it out, and soon were getting the signs to show for it. Senel's left eye was growing a dark purple color while blood was coming from a cut on Walter's lip. They both had huge bruises from the areas of skin visible, and bother looked tired, but still had a fire of anger in their eyes.

The two of the warriors took hits at each other and caught each other's fists. A look of hatred was on each of their faces, Senel thinking about Shirley and Walter about Fenimore and how the two of them, for a moment, had lost ones they deeply cared about.

"Walter, you know how much I care about Shirley; I'd never do anything to hurt her! For god's sake, she was going to kill off everybody who wasn't a Radiant!" Senel growled angrily at the blond, thinking of how close he had come to losing her and everyone he cared about.

"Then why the hell didn't you tell that to me 2 months ago when I was holding Fenimore's body when that bastard killed her!" Walter snapped in fury, eyes blazing.

"I never had a part in that and you know that!" Senel yelled, trying to defend his case.

Walter wouldn't have it, and slowly freed his hands from Senel's grasp, **"SHUT… UP!!"** Walter roared as he punched Senel away with a great deal of force, causing him to slam into the painter's house so hard he almost broke through the wall. Walter's face twisted in fury as a pair of dark violet wings sprouted from his back and his hands glowed dark. "I swear to god, I'll fucking kill you!"

Senel's expression was one of immense anger as his hands glowed with a white light as his eres grew in power. "Just listen to me, damn it!" He yelled as he got into a battle stance.

Walter slowed into a fighting stance, and for a brief moment the group watched in horror as a remake of that scene in the Mirage Palace was starting to take place. If someone didn't do something those two were going to kill each other!

Before the two could charge at each other, Will bashed the two of them over the head with his huge hammer. The two of them slowly toppled into the arms of Shirley, Chloe, Fenimore and I unconscious, the light of their eres fading and Walter's wings disappearing. As Will stood outside to disperse the large crowd that had accumulated over the course of the fight, we all had brought the guys inside and laid them on the two couches in the living room.

Norma and Shirley did a few healing eres to heal the worse of their wounds, but the others decided that having the marks from their battle would hopefully prevent them from engaging in an all out war anytime soon.

Will soon returned inside and looked both of the guys over, "Well, they'll certainly be sore for a while, but nothing too serious. Hopefully the two of them will behave themselves and stop fighting."

Chloe shook her head, "That's almost too much to hope for. Coolidge wouldn't let this stay as is, especially after all the hits they gave each other."

Fenimore shook her head sadly, "Walter's never has been a very passive person. I knew he had a grudge against Senel… I just didn't think it was this serious."

I rubbed my arms, trying to rid their anger-filled expressions from my mind. "Personally, I don't know what happened between those two, but it seemed like it was really affecting them. I don't think that battle was based on how strong they were, but what the other had done to them in the past."

I looked at all of them before speaking again, "You guys… What exactly _happened_ 2 months ago between those two?"

The group all looked at each other as Shirley spoke up, "I guess, this all started when Senel came to our village when I was younger…"

**BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh**

After everyone spoke about the events that had happened, all of us, either from one or another, knew what has went down.

**(This is basically a summary of what happened before the character quests, so if you want to skip it, go ahead. Just skip the italics.)**

_From what they said, Senel had no choice but to work for Vaclav when he was younger as he was an orphen, and stayed in the village Shirley and her sister Stella to try and take the Merines. Instead, Senel ended up loving them as siblings and crushes. Vaclav found them and as Senel ran away with Shirley, Stella covered them and got captured._

_When the two of them got to the Legacy, The undercover Walter was going to take the Merines back, but Moses kidnapped her and took her to his lair with the other bandits. Along the way there, Senel picked up Will and Chloe as companions. As Vaclav's forces infiltrated the lair, Walter took Shirley in the confusion and ran for the Crystal Forest with the others following. There, they met Norma and continued to take Shirley from Walter in an Underground passage. Senel and Shirley snuck off only for Shirley to get captured by Vaclav himself._

_While Jay led Chloe and Will after Shirley, Norma and Senel followed close behind but after a while they hooked up again to go to the Waterways to free Shirley. Though because Moses was there, they failed in getting Shirley back as she led Vaclav away from a wounded Walter and Fenimore-- who met Shirley in the prison they were staying at. They all retreated and went after Vaclav, with Moses now in the group, to the Ruins of Frozen Light. Though they got there and tried to free Shirley, she and Stella stayed as they were saved by Stella's teriques (some butterfly thing Ferines have) and got lost in the Forest of No Return. Though Moses' group was supposedly killed by Vaclav's forces, they were really safe._

_They all were saved by an elder of the Ferines, Maurits, and went to his Hermitage nearby. There, the group was planning to go with war against Vaclav alongside the Orerines, but needed the Whisper crystal to command an army of robots. Walter failed, but the group arrived there and got the crystal, along with Grune, who apparently was sleeping inside the ruins. Then, the group went to the front lines of the fighting and snuck in after having Jay join their group. After dispatching of the terrors, who were Vaclav's second in command, they defeated him at the top of the Bridge. Though it was too late, as he had fired the Nerifes Cannon at the capital of Gadoria, but Stella stopped the cannon and soon passed away afterwards._

_Shirley was going to perform a ritual to become the full Merines while Walter led the group away, but a group of Gadorian soldiers took the Ferines as traitors for using the Nerifes Cannon. Fenimore protected Shirley at the last moment and was stabbed by a soldier, killing her. At this, Shirley became the Merines and when the group showed up they were easily defeated. The elevator to the quiet lands opened, and after learning about the Cataclysm they received Sacred Eres from the Quiet Nerifes. They took a tram to the Mirage Palace and after a fight with Walter tried to convince Shirley to stop another Cataclysm from happening. This failed when Maurits told Shirley about Senel working with Vaclav in their village. They all took off to the Wings of Light, where they defeated Walter on their way. Stubborn to the end, he tried to fight again, but died of his wounds from before. After convincing Shirley, Maurits was possessed by Raging Nerifes and the group defeated him. And the rest is history._

As I heard the story, I couldn't help but be silent for a while, "That's a pretty sobering story, you guys… That all happened?"

Chloe nodded, "Yes. Senel, Shirley, we all have a dark tale."

Fenimore looked down at her feet, "I never knew so much happened to you all, and to think I was so cruel to you all…" She covered her eyes, trying to make tears fall.

Shirley rubbed her back comfortingly, "It's ok Fenimore, don't cry…"

"Whoever said I was?" She sniffled, trying to make an annoyed retort like Walter would do. It didn't work too well and didn't fool anyone.

"Anyways, we can't possibly tell them to just stop after all that have happened; those two _hate_ each other…" Jay commented.

"Oh, why do boys have to be such **idiots**!?" I muttered to myself, pulling at my hair thinking.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me; did you guys find out anything on the black mist?" Norma piped up, hoping on changing the subject.

"As a matter of fact, we did. There seemed to be a few attacks by powerful monsters near the Waterways. There were also reports of a strange dark figure near the Alter of the Sea." Will reported, and at the mention of the latter location Fenimore tensed. Looking over at Fenimore's reaction he also added, "I think it'd be a good idea to go to the waterways first. I recommend we leave a few days from now."

"To prepare?" Shirley asked.

"To let those two idiots in the next room heal their booboos and learn from their mistakes." Chloe snorted, and Shirley, Fenimore and I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Norma and Moses yawed loudly, "I'm tired guys, let's call it a night."

Jay looked over at the clock on the way, "That did take away a few hours… Alright then, I'm going too."

"I'm staying here and looking after the guys." Shirley and Chloe both said at the same time, then blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

"I'll stay too." Fenimore stated. "Besides, don't have a place to stay."

'_Hehe… Smart move Fenimore, nice cover…'_ I thought before stating, "And I'm too lazy to walk back to the inn."

"You lazy moron, it's only two blocks away!" Chloe scolded, while I just shrugged and grinned.

"Bah, let're stay here. Doesn't look like a problem to me." Moses shrugged, and Will finally caved in.

So after Norma, Moses, Jay and Grune left, Chloe and Shirley were propped up against the back of the couch Senel was sleeping on, Fenimore was laying on the floor with a futon and I was to sleep on one of the large counters in the kitchen. Was a nice night, eh?

_(falls over) Wow, this chapter wasn't what I expected at all…Anyways, hope you didn't die over the summary of the first half of the game. And I apologize if Walter and Senel seemed OOC; I just thought that the two would hate each other's guts over all that happened in the game… Anyways, have a good one, and see you next chapter. Sayonara!_


	16. An Interlude

Well… nothing really to say about this chapter, except the fact that I'm pulling this out of my ass as I go along. Just wait until this arc is over, consider it Walter and Fenimore's character quest. The story'll go along better in Jay's character quest. :) Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter of Good Help is Hard to Find!

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Legendia, those little comics at the end of Trinity Blood vol. 3, the 'the**rapist**' quote belongs to my friend, and definitely not the **'hot steamy love'** from a yaoi story. By the way, there isn't actually any yaoi in this story.

_After staying up god knows what time doodling in a random notebook in the entryway, I finally drifted off to sleep, only to be woken up sometime in the night by a punch in the face. "Alright, who did that!?" I couldn't help but say aloud. Suddenly it hit me. I was lying on the floor near the kitchen, blankets tossed about carelessly. __'…Oh, I fell off the counter…'_ I briefly sweatdropped at my stupidity and, probably unable to get any sleep anytime soon, slipped on my coat and went outside for a walk.

The streets outside were completely empty, with the exception of the faraway trickling of the fountain. The streetlights had been dimmed and the combined chorus of music and chatter of the bar in the inn were silent, so it was safe to assume it was after 2:00. The only other light was the dull glow of the half moon above the Legacy, and even that was quiet.

It was somewhat peaceful, but I still couldn't shake some feeling of malevolence. I was just too quiet… I guess one got used to the various noises in the old growth forests in Washington though, especially the frogs… I smiled at the thought, but soon looked on sadly as thoughts of home drifted through my mind. There was an odd sensation mixed in between that though… I didn't feel as terrible as I usually did, as if the excitement I had here was slowly overcoming my old life.

Suddenly, I was jolted out of my thoughts as I barely heard the sound of footsteps. Mostly due to instincts and paranoia, I quickly bounded out of the street and hid behind a tree; crouching down behind the huge roots and trying not to breathe loudly. I heard the footsteps stop, the swish of clothing; blood pounded through my ears as I heard the figure disappear into the distance.

I waited for a few moments, and peeked around the tree. No one was there at all… As I walked out from behind the tree to stand in the square, I saw and heard that the stranger was gone. I slowly sighed to myself, but the hairs on the back of my neck rose and a stone hit my stomach as I heard a menacing oily voice _right behind me_.

"Hello little girl, have we met before?" I spun around with such velocity an ice skater would have been proud. That man was there; the one in blue and green with the oiled blond hair and the thin pale face. The same one I had run into a few times… The one from when I went into the shop to buy shoes, and the one I had run into after pulling a prank on Senel.

"What do you want?" I asked cautiously and at that he chuckled cruelly to himself.

"Kehehe… Such a nasty tone you have, not the thing to speak with strangers to…" God, I felt dirty just being with him, let alone hearing him speak; he screamed molester all over!

'_I have to get away from him fast…'_ I thought to myself while keeping a chilly façade. "I'm _sorry_…" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "But if you would excuse me, I have to be somewhere." I turned to leave, but he was all of a sudden in front of me again. _'How did he--!?'_

"If I didn't say any better, I'd say that you were ignoring me. Come now dear, don't be so cold…" He gave me a slimy smile and I couldn't help but shiver.

As I slowly backed up, ready to run, my salvation came. "…Onyx? What the hell are you doing up at this kind of night?" I looked around the man—who turned also—to see Walter a couple yards away. He loosely wore his open white shirt, where one could see bandages peeking through.

I rejoiced inside and ran over to him, "Hey, what are you doing up?" I almost gasped out as relief flooded through me.

"Looking for you…" His expression hardened a bit when he looked behind me at the _'the__**rapist**__'_. "Who's this?" He asked; stoic expression back in place.

"Oh don't mind me. I'm only passing through…" The man turned and looked towards the elevator in the mountainside. "This place is too peaceful for my liking, no war or action at all; it's so _boring_."

"Peace is a good thing; I hope you know that." I retorted a bit angrily.

I noticed Walter stiffen when the man grinned at Walter, "What a vibrant shade of platinum! Almost like one of the Radiant!" He laughed.

Walter stared at him darkly, "What the hell do you want here?"

"Oh, nothing really…" Anyone could tell from his tone he was lying. "Until the next time we meet!" He suddenly disappeared in a large cloud of smoke, and after I looked around I saw he really had vanished.

"Damn, that guy scares the crap out of me!" I shuddered and rubbed my arms for good measure, trying to rid myself of that grimy feeling.

Walter stayed silent before asking, "…Have you met him before?"

"Well yeah, I ran into him a few times around town… He always gave me this grimy look, ugh!" I answered, pretending to gag.

Walter stared at the spot silently, as if trying to set the area on fire with his gaze or something. "…Walter? Hey, you in there?" I waved a hand in front of his face curiously.

He snapped out of it though, "Erm… yeah, so come back to that fanatic's house, alright?"

"…Fanatic? Oh, you mean Will. He's kind of a historian, so he liked scientific stuff." I shrugged to myself. "By the way, how are your injuries?"

Walter touched his torso gingerly, "I'll live…" Something flickered behind his eyes, but I paid no heed.

"Anyways, let's go." I took him by the wrist and started dragging him along before he fell into stride beside me.

As the two of us quietly entered the house, he gave me a weird look when I tried to clamber onto the counter, "Dare I even try to comprehend that, why are you sleeping on the counter?"

"Because everywhere else is taken and I didn't feel like going back to the inn." I stopped for a moment and looked at him, "Speaking of which, where are you and Fenimore staying anyway?"

"Together?" He gave me an odd look. "Knowing her, she'll probably stay with the Meri—I mean Shirley at that one woman's house. I'll probably just crash here or go to the inn." He shrugged and went to slouch on the couch. "It'll fix itself."

I nodded slightly and quickly noticed his slightly red cheeks, probably because I thought he and Fenimore were going to stay in the same place. "Whatever you say Romeo…"

He gave me a sharp glare, obviously not forgetting that one fiasco in the Village of the Ferines. "Kidding, god… Can't you take a joke?" I shrugged.

"Depends if I'm the one being insulted…"

I grinned and laughed, taking my place on top of the counter. "Are you sure you're alright?"

He sighed heavily, "Yes. God, if I've died already, this should be nothing…"

I smiled before closing my eyes, "Whatever you say Wally; 'night."

"Goodnight idiot." He almost gained another injury when he dodged the fork aimed at his head.

BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh

_I was running through a field of white flowers, the sunshine and clouds circling around me in the sky in a strange pattern. I looked forwards, and saw a lady walking what looked like a cute fluffy dog._

"_A doggie! I wanna pet it!" I squealed with hearts flying around my face. Time slowed down like one of those cheesy romantic movies, and the air turned pink and sparkly._

_But when I got close enough, the mirage vanished to reveal a small pudgy child with a string around his waist, "Goo." It gurgled behind his bib._

_I sweatdropped and fell into a black hole promptly afterwards._

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around to see a few people talking in the living room of Will's house. _'Weird dream…'_ I thought to myself as I got up and jumped off the counter. I looked over and recognized the three people in the living room as Senel, Norma and Chloe.

They must have noticed me, as they looked over in my direction and waved me to come over. "Morning, Otto!" Norma cheerfully called.

"Mornin'… What time is it?" I asked with a yawn, rubbing my eyes all the while.

"It's about 10 in the morning, I'm surprised you sleep in this late; I mean even Norma got up before you!" Chloe commented and earned a complaint.

"Hey, that's not nice C!" Norma whined.

I looked around and saw the couch Walter used last night was empty; Fenimore too, "By the way, where is everyone?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, Jay and Moses haven't arrived yet. Will and Shirley are running an errand for Musett and the others left to go grab a bite to eat." Chloe said, and I nodded at this, as the only other ones were Grune, Fenimore and Walter; not the best thing to bring up after that incident last night.

I looked over at Senel, who looked somewhat calm, but I just had to test something… I poked Senel in the side and he backed off a step, "Oww! Onyx, what was that for!?" He asked with an annoyed look on his face.

"Just testing something… You sure you're going to be able to come to the Waterways later today?" I gave a slight grin.

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, alright? I'm fine; nothing a few apple gels won't cure…"

Norma covered her bag protectively, "None of mine, you get your own!"

"Are you sure you've learned from that beating you and Walter got yesterday?" Chloe asked with a skeptical look.

"Yes, now please get off my back!" He retorted angrily.

Norma and I looked over at each other and grinned ear to ear, then immediately ran behind him and jumped on his back, causing him to collapse against the floor. "Aww, but its do fun though!" I cheered happily and we both laughed.

The door opened and Moses and Jay walked inside. "What the hell is going on here?" Jay asked with a strange expression.

Senel waved his arms under us and yelled, "Help me!" That caused Norma and me to laugh even harder.

Moses grinned and provoked him even further; "Eh, but you should be happy to have two girls hangin' all over ya Senel!" He gave us a suggestive expression, and after Norma and I looked over at each other scrambled away almost immediately.

"You're **sick**, Moses!" I screamed with a shaking finger pointing at him.

Norma's arms flailed around and she pretended to gag. "Ugh, why would I ever fall for Senny anyways? I already have some…" She stopped and covered her mouth, slowly turning a bright red color.

"What was that Norma?" Chloe asked.

Norma shook her head side to side, turning more crimson by the second. "No!" She squeaked.

"You have someone already? Who is it!?" Moses asked; eyes full of excitement at a new secret.

Alright, many a time I am cruel and nasty, yes; but I wasn't just going to abandon Norma in her time of need. "Alright guys, enough of that. If she doesn't want to tell you then just leave her alone. I mean…" I gave Moses and Jay a sinister, "You wouldn't want me broadcasting your **hot** _steamy_ love for each all over town, would you?"

The guys immediately turned bright red in either embarrassment or fury and got out their weapons. "You wouldn't **DARE**!!" They both yelled in unison.

I chuckled sadistically, "Oh, but I would! Maybe I should do it right out the window…" I slowly walked towards the window, which both of them ran over and covered with their bodies.

"Over my dead body!" They both yelled in unison.

Over their yelling, we never noticed the small group of people at the door. Will, Shirley, Grune, Walter and Fenimore were all staring at our antics with bemused and peculiar expressions. "Alright, would someone please tell me what I missed when I was gone?" Will asked, looking us over with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing much Teach; just Otto threatening JJ and Red to tell everyone about their hot steamy _love_ for each other." Norma beamed happily, her red blush gone.

"……" The group was silent in shock or suppressed laughter.

Walter waved a hand carelessly, "Meh, good luck with that. Tell me when your funeral is, m'kay?" Many couldn't help but laugh at that statement.

"Yeah yeah, real comedian Wally." I retorted, my ego balloon popped and currently deflating.

"Will you _please_ not call me that!?" He veinpopped.

"Why not _Wally_, it's fun!" Norma cheered. Walter just glared daggers at us with a vein throbbing on his temple.

"Alright, settle down everyone." Will announced and everyone started quieting down. "Now we're going over to the Waterways in a little bit, does everyone have what they need?"

The group was mostly silent, and then he spoke again. "Alright then, it's settled." He looked over to Walter and Senel, "Senel, Walter, you're staying here."

That got a reaction. They both jumped up in mixed shock and anger, "What; why!?" The two of them looked at each other at their reaction, and then turned away.

"You two are injured; and since you both use iron eres it wouldn't be wise for the two of you to move around a lot." Jay confirmed.

"The hell I will!" Senel yelled while Walter just smoldered in anger.

"You do know that even if you intend to keep us here, we'll go anyway, right?" The blond eren retorted angrily.

'Well he does have a point…" I shrugged. _'Hey, I'd do the same thing in his shoes.'_ I thought to myself as I watched the small debate.

"Um… Shirley? You know where there's a weapons shop around here?" Fenimore piped up.

"Yes, but why do you want to go there?" She asked curiously.

"I want to fight too." This got the other's attention.

"Fenimore, are you serious?" Walter asked.

"Yes I'm sure! I mean, this moonstone I got from the unicorn would amplify a few spells I have, so I could just heal you just as well as the others." She said, holding out the stone, which Will's eyes were focused on hungrily.

"Just let them come along guys; what's the worse that can happen?" Norma asked everyone.

"Fight, death, decapitation…" The entire group said and the four sweatdropped.

"You know, I can't help but wonder why death is before decapitation…" I muttered to myself.

"Could we let them come?" Grune breezily asked, "It's more fun to go on picnics with lots of friends."

Fenimore and Walter stared at her, "She thinks it's a picnic?" They asked in unison.

"Always has, always will…" Senel responded.

"That's my Grune!" Moses grinned.

"_Le gasp!_ You're cheating on Jay; how could you!" I gasped and everyone burst out in laughter.

"Anyways, I'll take you to the weapons shop Fenimore; come on Norma, Shirley, you're coming too!" I waved them over and the four of us departed the house and walked down the street to the building with the weapons and armor.

I entered it, remembering the place where I had bought some of my new clothes before going to the Village of the Ferines, though it looked like there were new products to be had. The silvery swords in the showcases were changed with small wands and some rods, as if interchanging their products at times for different classes. That suited our needs quite well.

As Norma and Shirley showed Fenimore some of the various magic-infused weapons, which I happened to notice had magical properties more-so then any offensive blades or points. _'Geez, I never realized how much mages rely on magic instead of trying to defend themselves.'_ I thought as I looked over at a wall with some thin staffs of some kind. I looked over at them before noticing a small slit in the center. I clicked the sides of one of them, and when I quickly slid out it became 2 small blades, about the shape as a rapier. "Oooh… Cool!" I swung it around, missing some people on its path through the air.

"Hey, watch it Otto!" Norma said, leaning backwards to avoid a hit to the nose.

I looked at some sort of gem at one of the ends; probably disguised as the top and looked over at the small group. "Hey guys; how about one of these?" I asked, holding it up and sliding it back into the small jointed staff. "Has a gem at each end, but if need be it can be a pair of blades. Not many people would suspect it to be like that instead of a normal staff!" I let it slide to the end of my hand as I gave it to Fenimore and the girls.

She lifted it with ease out of my hands and examined it. Norma looked over it with a critique's eye. "Hmm… Nice, but it doesn't really have any power in it; it just _looks_ like a staff."

"Well, we could ask to imbue it at the customization shop; it's pretty nearby." Shirley spoke up with a cheerful expression.

"…Alright; I kind of didn't really like staffs anyway." Fenimore smiled to herself, ensuring that she'd be able to fight too; she hated to feel useless. "Let's get a pretty one though; this one's kind of dull-looking…"

We all searched around for a soft grey colored one slightly curved at the top; wasn't such a cold metal like steel either; it was almost a mixture between a silver and a blue mithril. After going to the customization shop, she imbued it with a wind and lightning element, changing the curved end to a small wind gust shape. Anyone who saw Fenimore's face when we returned could tell she was pleased; she was glowing with happiness.

Near Will's place, we all saw the group out in front. Everyone looked somewhat prepared for the trip, and I was reluctant to leave as I had forgotten to take a pastry with me. Luckily, we had some of Harriett's cooking with us… I just hope it wasn't too bad.

We all walked in step with each other when we left, and everything seemed back to normal. Next stop, the Waterways!

_Ok, how was that as a chapter? Kind of stuck at the end, but it all came out in the end, ne? Never really liked Solon, but trust me, he'll have a larger part in this story then just in Jay's character quest… (chuckles evilly) Anyway, thanks for reading; hope you all like it!_


	17. Waterlogged Much?

Woo hoo! I got a new MP3; Banzai!! Anyways, I'll spare you my celebrating and get on with the chapter. Hope you all like it!

I don't own Tales of Legendia, the song Butterfly from DDR, or Jay's gorgeous long hair. : )

_Before I start, I'd like to share with you a little fact. Have I ever told you how much I __hate_ hot, dry places? Absolutely abhor them; can't handle the heat very well… Well I learned of one of those areas on the Legacy.

My expression fell when the group stepped out of the duct. The entrance of the waterways was just a huge desert-like rock face with some weird hollows and a huge entrance drilled into the side. That's about it. It reminded me a bit of some dry canyon in the Southwest, or like Eastern Washington.

As we continued I could already feel the heat radiating off of the ground and with every step we took a cloud of dust drifted into the air. I slumped and trudged on miserably.

Shirley noticed my melancholy mood first and slowed down to ask, "What's the matter Onyx?"

I looked up at the rock face and noticed there weren't any plant life nearby. "It's so hot… How can you people stand it?" I moaned.

Jay rolled his eyes while Moses shrugged, "What's the big deal? It's not that hot out here; heck, it's pretty cool today."

Norma spoke up next, "Well isn't that because you walk around half-naked all the time?" Walter and Fenimore, who were listening to the conversation, couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

"Well maybe it's because of that coat you're wearing; why didn't you keep it at the inn?" Jay asked, also slowing his pace to enter the conversation.

"I thought the waterways would be a cool place, I mean it's full of water, right?" I asked.

"You know, not every place with water is cold, I can tell you that right now." Fenimore spoke up. "Where I used to live on the mainland, the usual temperature was around the 90's."

I slumped in place again and Chloe finally came over, "Alright Onyx, it isn't that bad; heck, it's not even into the 80's yet." She said in a scolding manner. "If it's so bad then I'll just give it to Will to carry."

My expression lightened a bit as I nodded and shrugged off the heavy black coat before folding and giving it to Chloe. Almost immediately, I felt a lot cooler and grinned. "Thanks a bunch Chloe."

Jay couldn't help but slap his forehead in exasperation and continue to trudge on with the rest of the group. I grinned to myself and ran to catch up to him; placing my arms around his neck as I did. "Aww, don't be so antisocial and mean, Jay!"

He simply glared at me, "Get off of me, Onyx…" He replied in a dull tone promising pain if I didn't comply.

I grinned when I remembered that little incident before we went to the Crystal Forest to find the unicorn and everyone's expression. I wonder what they're reactions would be this time… I leaned in a little closer and whispered lightly into his ear, "Ai yai i yai… Ai yai i yai… Ai yai i yai…" I could barely keep the grin off of my face as I finished the lines, watching his expression turn to utmost horror. We both knew what was coming… "Where's my samurai?"

I bounced off and spun a couple of times and danced before singing again, "I've been searching for a man, all across Japan. Just to find, to find my samurai." I did a twirl her and there, and made a pose of imitating Jay. "Someone who is strong, but still a little shy. Yes, I need, I need my samurai." By now everyone was watching as I made a complete fool of myself and embarrassing Jay to the point of where his face was literally burning from blushing so much; I wouldn't be surprised if he got a nosebleed.

"Ai yai i yai, I'm your little butterfly!" I flapped my hands like little wings at this part. "Green, black and blue make the colors in the sky." I skipped along and sung a few more lines. "Ai yai i yai, ai yai i yai, ai yai i yai, where's my samurai?" I twirled and beamed at Jay, who returned my look with stunned alarm, and a little bit of an increasing hatred.

I simply grinned my fox smile and sang out the last lines a little softer than the rest, "Ai yai I yai, I'm your little butterfly. Green, black and blue make the colors in the sky!" I blew a kiss at him and winked. I could have sworn that at that precise moment a little voice in my head was screaming, _**'**__RUN FOR IT!!'_ I obeyed, not wanting to stick around to hear the group's restraints on their laughter sever and Jay's shock being replaced with an urge to kill.

Unfortunately for me, that all came sooner then I had anticipated…

As soon as I had turned to run Jay was already hot on my heels, flinging daggers and kicks in my direction. _**"ONYX, YOU LITTLE -bleep-; I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU!!"**_ He roared at me, almost drowning out the huge bouts of uproarious laughter coming from the group.

"D-don't be rash now, Jay. You can't spell slaughter without laughter, remember? B-be nice!" I tried to reason with him, but…

"_**LIKE HELL I WILL!!"**_ …It wasn't working.

I struggled to keep up with my sprinting, but now I was losing breath in huge gasps. I ran through the entrance, barely taking in the odd red platforms and golden lights over glowing blue water. I turned a corner and sped in that direction, but suddenly I felt myself dive into some kind of cool liquid. _'Oh… It's a little river. No wonder it's called the waterways.'_ I sweatdropped. Onyx's stupidity strikes again.

I try swimming back to the little stairway which I rushed from, but the current was pushing a bit too hard, "Ack!" I squeaked, trying to propel myself forward but ended up being washed away in the current. I saw Jay at the corner, watching me with a… well I didn't know what that expression on his face was. Anyway, I yelled at him, "Help!" And after that, I couldn't see him anymore.

I couldn't help but notice how refreshing the water was compared to the intense heat waves outside. I simply just stopped paddling and let the current take me along. I noticed a lot of lights passing by against the darkened red ceiling. I closed my eyes, not moving much and smiling a bit to myself. Hey, a girl had to relax sometimes, right?

All of a sudden, I felt myself falling off the shoot and plunge into a huge pool of water with a splash. I came up to the surface, coughing and sputtering. I stopped and looked around my surroundings. It looked like I had reached the end of the line in a separate cavern where the water poured in from above, though it looked like there was a separate entrance that led back.

I slowly paddled back to the shore and slowly hauled my dripping form out of the water, squeezing the water out of my hair and clothes. It was a lot colder now that I was soaking wet in the cavern, made worse that I didn't have my coat. I sighed to myself. "Meh… Might as well wait a while till they come find me." I slumped against the way in a sitting position and was soon deep in thought.

Not that much later, I heard a voice cry out in the cavern that sounded very familiar, "Aaaaah!!" A huge splash made waves in the pool and soon a figure came up gasping for air.

I raised an eyebrow at who it was. "…Jay? What the heck are you doing here?"

The dark brunette looked over at me and swam over. "Looking for you. You were the one yelling for help while half drowning, remember?" He flicked his arms to try and get the water off of himself.

"Ah… Right, though you were… are so mad at me that I thought you would just ignore me."

Now it was his turn to raise an eyebrow, "And lose that 7500 gald you owe me? I think not…" He walked over to me and I couldn't help but lean back a little, remembering my purpose for coming here in the first place. Jay saw this and sighed, "I'm not going to kill you Onyx, relax…"

"What about maiming?" I couldn't help but ask.

Jay thought to himself, weighing the pros and cons before answering, "…No, not that either." He sat down a few feet across from me as I sighed in relief to myself. As he was struggling to untie his hair, he gave me a flat stare, "That doesn't mean I forgive you, you know…"

I stayed silent and while he took out a few of the bands before asking, "…Where'd you come up with that anyway?"

"Huh?" I responded.

"That song; where did you come up with it?" The ebony-haired boy repeated.

"Oh that? I heard it somewhere at my town a few years ago." Actually, I saw the song online, but he didn't need to know that. "It was really catchy, so I kinda learned it and have known it ever since then." I shrugged to myself.

"Hn…" He breathed out and continued to be silent. Now who in the world did that remind me of in my little world of anime, hmm? Ah yes, that emotastic guy from that one game Tales of Symphonia. Except his hair wasn't black; it was a darkish-red… Meh, same thing. He finally took the last of the bands out of his hair and hair fall to his shoulders. …Wait a minute!

"Geez Jay, I never knew your hair was so long; hell, it almost as long as mine!" I couldn't help but comment, not taking note of how… adorable it looked on him.

He gazed at me flatly before responding, "Well that's because it's always tied up. It would get in the way otherwise."

"Yeah, well… Why don't you cut it then?" I asked.

He blinked, "Why do that; I like it this way." He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I shrugged to myself and took a hairtie out of my pocket, winding it loosely around my hair. "Well, why have it in that style? Guaranteed, you'll look better if it's tied in the back… or maybe if you layered it a little bit." I pondered to myself; hand on my chin and gazing intently at Jay's hair.

Jay wisely leaned away and chose a different location for his sharp violet eyes, "No thanks… the last thing I'm going to let you do is start messing with my hair like it's a plaything. Do that to your own."

I whined, "But Jaaay; I can't do that… My hair's too boring and ugly to do anything cool with it—"

He interrupted, "Oh please, you're hair is far from ugly, Onyx. Believe me, I've seen worse."

I looked at him with a surprised expression before he returned it, "…What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"…Dude… You just gave me a compliment, you know that? You've never said anything nice to me before, and you just said my hair didn't look ugly. Unless I've been learning life lessons from a rock I'd consider that a compliment." I responded, surprise starting to wear off.

Jay gave me a dry stare, "Don't get used to it." He took another look at my smug expression and said, "Ok, now you're just being conceited."

"But Jaaay… Doesn't this mean you're starting to like me a little better? Maybe even as friends?" I wiggled my eyebrows for good measure.

Jay sighed heavily and slapped his forehead, "Are you trying to _flirt_ with me or something, because it isn't working…"

I immediately backed off, "W-what? Of _course_ not, you _pervert_!" I kicked him away, sending him tumbling backwards.

"Hey, there's no reason to kick me!" He shouted as I tried to wipe the blush off my face.

"Well it's your fault! Trying to make it seem like I'm flirting with you, god! That's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard! Idiot!" I stammered to him.

The dark brunette gave me one look and smirked, "You talk big, but can you back it up?"

I glared at him and grabbed one of the hairties he had in his hair. "Oh Jaaay… couldn't you come to play with meee?" I stretched it a few times for good measures.

Jay took a step backwards, "…Wait, don't give me that look Ony—ACK!" I jumped him and started playing with his hair. "Hey, let go of my hair! Ow, that hurts!" He protested angrily.

"Muahaha! Hold still; I'm making you look cool!" I struggled to try and tie his hair back, but he was a tough kid. "Oww! Hey, don't hit me!"

I finally tied his hair back in a low ponytail and pushed him away before he could do more damage to my arms. "There, now stop complaining!"

Jay finally stopped and looked over at his reflection in the pool of water, examining his new 'do. "…That's all you did?" He couldn't help but asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. I didn't have any gel or something like that to make it spike a little or scissors to cut a little off, so that's about the bare minimum I could to. Besides, you look better then with that side ponytail; it looked weird on you." I shrugged as he blew a few stray locks out of his face. "Look, you can take it out when we get back, but just keep it that way for now, alright?"

He stayed silent and finally gave up, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Fine, if you'll stop molesting me already—" He stopped when a shoe hit him. "Oww! Would you stop that?"

"I was not molesting you; how dare you think that! If anyone would molest you, it'd be that creep back in town!" I yelled.

He stopped complaining and gave me a curious and serious look, "'Creep in town'?"

"Well, yeah. I ran into him about three times in total. Once when I bought these shoes—" It was at this moment that Jay handed me back my other shoe. "And again when I ran out of Senel's house when Walter pulled that prank on him."

"And the third…?" Jay left the question hanging.

"The third time was late last night after 2:00, near the Fountain and the Bakery." I answered.

"Dare I even ask why were you up around 2 in the morning?" He questioned.

'_What is this, an interview?'_ "…I fell off the counter and couldn't fall back asleep. Anyways, he was being really disturbing, talking to me politely but I could tell he was just doing that to get me on edge or something." I shuddered and rubbed my arms for good measure.

Jay crossed his arms, "That does sound suspicious… Did you run away or did he leave on his own?"

"He left, but not before taunting about how he wished there was war on the Legacy, like he wanted to see some action or something. After that, he just vanished into thin air!" I continued.

That got his attention; I could tell because his expression turned to one of stone. "Vanished? What did he look like?" He looked serious, and that got me on edge.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I heard someone call for us at the entrance of the cavern. We both looked around and saw Walter floating down to us, violet wings fluttering as he landed. "There you two are! We all have been looking all over for you!" He exclaimed

"S-sorry. We kinda ended up in the current and floated down here. I thought it would be best to wait here, and then you found us." I answered, gazing at his glowing wings.

He nodded, "Well ok. Just wait here a little bit while I go find the others, alright?" The two of us agreed and Walter took off again to go find the others.

Jay turned to me again, "Now Onyx… Who was this man you were speaking of?" His voice had a cooler glint to it, as if he had an idea who that pedophile was. I looked to the ground as I thought about his face.

"Well… He wore blue and green clothes, and had really greasy blond hair in a ponytail. He had a really narrow face… With cruel eyes and a malicious grin that made your skin crawl." I shuddered thinking about him. "That guy really scares me… Though I can't help but wonder what his motive was." I stopped to look up at Jay's expression and shivered. That frozen façade of his made me uneasy. "…Jay? You ok?"

He snapped out of it and shook his head, "…It's nothing. Come on, let's go." The ice in his eyes didn't leave though. I slowly nodded and we both left the cavern via the lit entrance.

Not too soon afterwards, we met up with the rest of the group, who filled us in on what was going on. "Geez, you two are soaked!" Norma exclaimed with a wide grin.

"Well of course Norma, what would you expect if you took a dip in the waterways?" Jay retorted casually.

"So did you guys find anything?" I asked curiously.

Senel shook his head, "Nothing. We searched the entire place and there wasn't any sign of black mist or that mysterious figure."

Walter simply crossed his arms in disappointment at the lack of any kind of action, "Keh, guess it was just a rumor then."

"Man…" Moses sighed. "And I was hoping on kicking some monster butt too…" More then a couple of people were disheartened about it.

"Well, there's nothing we can really do about it. Let's just go back to town and check out the Alter of the Sea tomorrow." Will stated as the group later nodded and we started off again.

"Brrr… Is it just me or is it a bit cold in here?" I asked, rubbing my sodden arms for warmth.

Moses looked over at me shrugging, "It's just you Onyx. Probably Jay too 'cause you're both real soaking wet."

I picked at my drenched sleeves and sweatdropped, "Yeah, I guess you're right." I shrugged good-heartedly. "Hey, at least it isn't really hot like before though!"

Grune gave me a confused look, "Don't you like warm days?"

"Not really… I used to live in a place with a lot of rain, so I got used to the cold temperatures." I shrugged for a second time.

"Well that explains why you were so miserable outside." Shirley commented.

"At least until I had a good laugh!" I laughed, but kind of felt a little bad for Jay; of how I always picked on him. Just a little though. "…But then again, I have a cruel sense of humor, so no offence Jay. I'm weird like that." Jay simply ignored me, but I knew he heard me. Hopefully he wouldn't hold it against me so much.

That time in the Waterways was odd, just Jay and me. He didn't seem so… how would you say, emotionless. And for some reason, it made me glad to see Jay's hair tied back in that low ponytail.

_Ugh… you have no idea how much it killed me to write this chapter. No planning whatsoever on it, and look what happened! Just a filler chapter in my eyes, __**ugh**__! Well, at least there's a little forshadowing! I'll certainly try to plan out the next chapter._

_One more thing I have to add; this is probably __**NOT**__ going to be a Jay/Onyx, alright? I know for a fact that you readers are tired of all these little original characters waltzing in and taking your favorite character away. There's a very, very large possibility that having Onyx falling in love with Jay will __**NEVER**__ happen. Sure, friends probably, but __**lovers**__? Keh, as if!_

_Anyway, just ignore my ranting and go ahead and carry on with your lives… Like reviewing stories! May or may not include mine, I'm just glad you read the chapter! Have a good one!_


	18. The First of Three

_Argh… Writer's block hits Bishie again, as if I didn't get enough of that last chapter. (irritated sigh) Well… maybe I'll fend it off a little while longer for this one. Also, this is the longest chapter to date, so I hope you all enjoy it! Also, I couldn't help but add in that little part for you, Spirit of Ryuu. XD_

_Again, I still don't own Legendia or anything featured in the chapter, like something similar to a creature in an anime that starts with B. :)_

**BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh**

Coming back into Werites Beacon, I couldn't help but sigh to myself in aggravation. And to think through all that effort (and water) it was just a rumor that there was some black mist in the Waterways. I mean seriously, what a huge pain in the ass! I sighed to myself as the others went their own ways after saying goodnights.

'_Maybe I can get a smoothie or something at the bar.' _I thought to myself. Sure I could have drunk less innocent drinks there, but I still had my morals. Casually shoving my hands in my pockets, I walked in the direction of the inn.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed the rapidly disappearing sun dipping beneath the trees, giving the clouds around it a vibrant orange and red color rarely seen outside nature. "Wow…" I couldn't help but say aloud. Smiling to myself, I went down the stairs of the outside entrance musing to myself, _'If those magnificent sunsets aren't a reason to live then I don't know what is. …Oh yeah, smoothies!_'

Back on track, I walked over to a table taking in the warm atmosphere brought on by amber-colored drinks and smooth music by the red-haired pianist. Lounging back in the seat and setting my feet on another chair, I ordered a mixed berry smoothie. I looked over everyone in the place as I noticed that everyone had some friend or something of the sort.

I sighed to myself and leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms behind my head in a relaxing pose. _'It's at these times that I wish I wasn't single…' _Sure, it was stress-free not having a guy around, but sometimes it felt lonely with no one around. I closed my eyes, thinking of that guy in my world who just happened to be my friend's boyfriend. _'When I get home, I'm telling him I like him…'_ I thought to myself before wondering how the others' relationships were.

All of a sudden, I sat up and exclaimed, "That's it!" I covered my mouth in embarrassment and settled back down into my chair. Since Senel and Walter were still pissed off at each other, maybe the way to make them act more civil towards each other was to bait them in with the love of their life. I slapped my hands and rubbed them together in excitement. _'Oh, this is gonna be great!'_ Now to come up with a proper prank.

After asking for some paper and a pen, I slowly wrote down the relationships of some of the people in out group while sipping my smoothie. _'Hmm… Walter and Fenimore like each other, that's for sure. But about Senel… It looked as if Chloe and Shirley were close, but I didn't know whether to put him with the noble knight or soft-hearted Merines. What to choose, what to choose…'_ I pondered to myself before writing down some more ideas and notes. _'Oh yeah, maybe I can get Jay and Norma together too!'_

Scribbling madly at some of the plans, I thought over what I was doing for a moment. _'Hold up though… I can't be too brash on this, or else they'll suspect something. Just enough so they'll get thinking… For the girls, I'll get sweets or even a bouquet of flowers. Guys… …Hmm, food? Meh, I'll think of that later.'_ After careful planning, I was to send a gift to each person with the alias **Secret Admirer**, with a twist of whoever it was to be sent to. I rushed off before the stores closed to give the gifts.

I thought to myself for a moment while in a rush to get gifts (food came in the mornings), "Wait a second… Do I even know where Jay lives?" I knew about the others, but not once did I remember hearing about Jay's home. _'Is he homeless?'_ I couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "…I'll ask Moses! He'll be up right now and I can also give him something!" Moses was a cool guy; I couldn't just give him nothing. Just a little something so no one would suspect.

So I walked over to the park where the bandit's camp was, and I saw him next to a fire chatting with Csaba. I waved as I approached, "Yo, Moses, Csaba!"

They returned the greeting, "Evenin' Onyx. What's the rush… and all the stuff?" Csaba asked, looking at the bundle under my arm.

"Oh, these? Nothing much, just something I grabbed before heading back home. Here you guys!" I passed each of them some brownies I made (that's right, made) with a crooked smile. "I know they might not be all that nice, but I couldn't help but be thankful for what you guys have done for me." I grinned.

The two guys took a bite and Csaba happily chirped up, "Thanks a lot Onyx!"

Moses nodded, stuffing one in his mouth, "Phyeah! S'gooff!" Moses nodded, swallowing it with a large gulp.

My grin faded to a smile, "There's also something else I wanted to ask. You wouldn't happen to know where Jay lives, do you? I've never heard of where he is so I was curious…"

"He lives over with the Oresoren in their village; you can get over there with the ducts." Csaba responded.

"Oresoren…?" How do I get the feeling this isn't anything good…?

"Group of talking otters. He's in a house at the far end with Quppo, Poppo and Pippo." Moses continued before noticing my strange expression. "…Onyx?"

"…Talking… otters…?" I asked, my eye twitching involuntarily.

"Yeah. That was my reaction when I first found out about them." Csaba continued, taking another bite out of the chocolate treats.

I shivered and thanked them again, then headed back to finish my shopping. "First there were ghosts, I could handle that. Then people who could summon monsters and butterflies just like that. Then there were huge spell-casting bears, summoning scythes, dragons, and unicorns. All perfectly good. Now there's freakin' _talking otters_? Simply… Perfect…" I sweatdropped to myself before going in for a short night of sleep before dropping off everyone's stuff.

Early the next morning, I dropped off everyone's presents before heading off to the Oresoren village for Jay's. _'So far so good…'_ I thought to myself as I exited the pink duct and entered the cave which had a large amount of odd thingamabobs. A few otters were lying out in small shops on the sides of the paths, snoring lightly as only otters could. I stifled my coos of adoration and headed through the quiet town, careful not to let the edges of my trench drag along the small fence that lined the cobblestoned path in places.

To my comfort and relief, I looked over at a large house that seemed large enough to fit more then two otters in it. _'This must be Jay's place…' _I continued to the edge and slowly entered the house, careful to check if the occupants inside were still asleep. Sure enough, the three otters on the floor were fast asleep in what seemed to be three small bunks. I continued padding softly up the small stairway to Jay's room, being careful not to make any noise less it give away my position.

I looked inside the room over to the small bed in the corner. To my immense relief, I saw a bit of Jay's face and ebony-colored hair under the comforter. I slowly approached him, breath barely coming to me at all in case he woke up. …I never truly noticed how cute he looked when he was asleep; when his features were relaxed and he seemed at ease without a care in the world. I smiled gently to myself and placed the small bag with his present near his bed. Standing up fully and ready to leave, I looked over my shoulder at him again before leaving quickly.

I never really noticed the slight blush on my face before getting to the inn and going to sleep, but I thought nothing of it and blamed it on the cold.

**BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh**

I slowly slipped out of my dream with fighting a pirate in a ninja outfit to someone poking me in the cheek. "Mmm… Lemmie alone, idiots…" I mumbled before rolling over onto my side I slowly imagined the person poking me was the hot guy of my dreams and slowly smiled, "Hiya hottie…"

The person pinched my cheek angrily and said, "Wake up!"

I opened my black eyes slowly and a slightly tanned face with blue eyes and white hair came into view. I screamed at the sight of Senel so close to me and fell out of bed on the other side. "Gah! Don't friggin' sneak up on me like that!!" I freaked out, beating my chest to calm down my heart.

He shrugged, "Your fault on that. Come on; everyone's waiting outside, so get ready quick." He left almost as quickly as he came, and I saw a small accessory on his arm above one of his bracers. I couldn't help but grin as he closed the door behind him. _'So he got the gift… I wonder what the others got too…'_ I giggled to myself before getting dressed and leaving.

In the square in front of the inn, everyone was accounted for, with the girls chatting amongst themselves in curiosity at their early morning visitor. 'Everything's going as planned…' I thought to myself before waving to the others. "Yo."

"Is that all you have to say, it's 10 in the morning!" Chloe stated while I simply shrugged.

"Hey, you cough up the money for an alarm clock and I'll use it, m'kay? Anyways, weren't we all gonna go to the Alter of the Sea today?" I questioned, pulling my hair back into a ponytail so the bright sunshine wouldn't get to me. This time I left my coat at home, mainly because it looked as if it would be as hot as the day before.

"Yeah, let's be on our way then." Everyone nodded and we were off. Already through a duct I recognized many of the surroundings; the blue walls shimmering with tiny trickles of water flowing into the pool below, the crystal clear water flowing in small streams from the ceiling and falling with a steady splash into the collection of water.

I sighed to myself with a slight feeling of nostalgia seeping into my mind. I walked inside along with the others, keeping in stride with Norma, Moses and Jay with the newly resurrected Ferines in front of them. "Haven't been here in a while…" I mumbled to myself as Norma shivered at the sudden drop in temperature.

"Geez, place still gives me the creeps." She rubbed her arms while I just rolled my shoulders.

"Meh, it isn't that bad Norma. It's just a little chilly with all the water and no sunlight." I shrugged to myself with a slight smile on my face.

Jay sighed to himself, "It's a cave; it's supposed to be dark and cold…"

I couldn't help but giggle at that statement while Norma crossed her arms trying to keep warm. "Yeah, but they could've at least put a few holes in the roof or something…" She pouted.

Grune spoke up from behind, "But then the ceiling wouldn't be so pretty…" As she pointed up to the ceiling our eyes followed it to the dripping stalagmites above us.

Though they looked steady, Norma couldn't help but let out a squeak of fright. "Eep!"

Walter who was listening got a cruel smile on his face, "Don't be too loud Norma… They might drop on you." That instantly shut up Norma and she was mostly quiet for most of the trip. At least most of the way of course, before that same silver-tailed and blue-eyed dragon slipped out from behind a rock. As it roared at us, the shockwaves made the cavern shake and a stalagmite fell and shattered very near Moses' foot.

We all sweatdropped nervously as we got out our weapons to fight, "So much for being quiet, Wally…" I muttered to myself.

"Oh shut up Onyx…" Walter retorted back as he slid into a fighting stance.

"Remind me what this thing is weak against again…?" Senel asked us as the dragon got ready to charge.

"Darkness, I think." Fenimore spoke up, readying her own weapon to start casting healing spells in case they were needed.

"Gotcha."

Jay, Senel, Chloe and Walter charged at the same time, splitting into teams of two on either side while attacking. I summoned my scythe quickly and dodged a tail aimed at my face to take a swipe of my own. As Norma cast some status increasing spells, Shirley, Will and Grune continued to cast a few powerful spells while Fenimore kept up with healing.

With the continued combinations of attacks, I noticed that Senel and Walter were trying to outdo each other by dealing the most damage. I stifled a laugh as they barely missed a blast of frosty dragon-breath from the Silver dragon. Soon afterwards, they sweatdropped and muttered something to each other before continuing.

While Chloe and Jay covered a clawed talon for me, I ran up the back of the dragon and hooking my scythe on its shoulder dragged my scythe down it's torso to its belly, blood luckily not hitting my small frame. However, that didn't stop the dragon's tail from swiping across our path and taking out the five of us iron erens.

The five of us hit the smoothed earth as it roared again; clearly angry at the huge wound I created on its underside. While Fenimore and Shirley quickly healed us, Senel and Walter were the first ones who recovered enough to continue. Then Chloe and Jay got up and charged with me hurrying to catch up to the others.

After more combos and hits, the dragon eventually let out a low rumble in its throat and fell; life blood flowing from the various cuts and slashes it took. Breathing heavily, I hoisted my scythe up onto my shoulder and let it diminish into thin air as I slurped down a mélange gel. I looked through my bag and soon discovered I was out of mélange and orange gels. The only ones left were a small supply of higher ranked healing items and a single apple gel. "Guess I'll have to get some more when I get back." Sometimes it really sucked being an iron eren; no healing spells.

I looked over towards the others and saw the others getting healed or chatting with the others. I almost fell over laughing when I saw that Walter was eating another spicy snack _again_. I skipped over to Chloe and Jay, ignoring the painful scrapes on my knees crying for attention. "You guys ok then? It looked like you took a beating."

"I've had worse. And you're one to talk Onyx. You took that hit as hard as the rest of us." Chloe commented while Jay shrugged.

"Meh, I had a mélange gel. Speaking of which, how much farther until we're out?" I looked back to the path that continued upwards.

"Not much, about another five to ten minutes of walking." Jay spoke up, standing up and brushing off some of the dust that still lingered from that hit.

I nodded and soon afterwards we all took off for the top. As we exited the cave, I had to cover my eyes from the bright sunshine that beat down from the vibrant blue skies. _'Just as I remember it…'_ I thought to myself as Norma stretched her arms.

"Ah… This feels much better then that cave! Warm sunshine, cool breeze, and just look at that view!" The group all looked over towards the vast ocean, calm waves almost invisible in the distance.

Fenimore breathed in the salty air that wafted in from the sea and softly smiled. Walter just shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around for something. "So that black mist is supposed to be here too, right? Or was that just a rumor too?"

Everyone looked around for a bit, before Shirley spoke up, "I don't really see anything wrong. It's the same as always."

My eyes caught Norma looking over to the crimson alter. "Wait a sec, what's that thing over there?" The group turned to her as she ran to the alter and picked up what looked like a rolled up scroll, only its color was stark white.

As she turned it over, Will looked at it curiously. "What is it Norma?"

She turned to us, back to the alter, "Its just some musty old scroll… It has weird writing on the side and has ripped sealing tags on it." She looked at it a little more closely and also said, "It looks kinda like that ancient Shaymin language, but it's so faded I can't read it." Little did she know that a white shadow started to appear out of thin air and slowly took shape behind her. A huge white figure hunched over with a skeletal mask marked with huge sharpened jaws and red markings slashed across its slitted scarlet eyes.

The rest of us stood tense and got out our weapons slowly, "Norma… I would highly suggest you come over here. Quickly." Will warned.

Norma looked confused, "…What's with those looks? There's nothing bad here, is there?" The creature exhaled and her hair blew forwards when the warm air hit her neck. Her expression changed to a fearful one quickly, "…Guys? …There's something behind me, isn't there…?"

The group nodded. "Yes, come over quickly." Will attempted to usher her over, but instead Norma ignored him and looked behind her.

She took one look at the huge monster and its glistening fangs and backed up slowly. "Hehehe… Nice monster, nice monster…" She spoke to it slowly, fear clearly starting to take over.

It roared an inhuman war, like something not of this world, and Norma ended up falling onto her back. **"Souls…"** It growled out, licking its lips while its crimson eyes fixated on Norma's quivering form. **"I need souls!"** It's claws shot forward towards Norma and she screamed.

All of a sudden, a dagger hit its mask and exploded as a white and a blue blur shot between the creature and Norma. Senel and Walter stood before it in a fighting stance while Jay stood by Norma picking her up by the arm. "W-what is that thing…?" Shirley stuttered out, covering while the guys waited for the monster to stop screeching.

"I assume it's one of those beings the Shaymin summoned from the underworld, though I've never seen such a creature before on the Legacy or mainland." Will said, covering an ear.

"So assuming this thing is from the underworld, it can't really die, can it?" I asked, covering my ringing ears from the high pitched shrieks.

"If it was affected by my dagger then it probably can." Jay stated as Norma ran back to the group and switched places with me and Chloe, who ran up to take our positions with the guys.

The creature brought its claws from its mask, in which part of it cracked and was burnt in places where the explosion hit. **"You… I'll kill you all!"** It howled incomprehensibly and tried to slash at the two guys in front, but the quickly dodged and let loose a barrage of attacks, with Jay, Chloe and I backing them up. In the back Moses was throwing countless spears at it along with spells coming from the crystal erens.

However, it didn't even seem like anything was affecting it. The creature merely scoffed and it threw all of us to the ground with a single swipe of its arm. "Ugh…" I moaned, slowly getting to my feet again.

"What's going on? None of our attacks are affecting that thing at all!" Chloe said, using her sword to get up.

While we all attacked in the front, Fenimore dug in one of her pockets to find a Magic lens. Peering through it, she saw something sticking out of the back of the white being's neck. Taking a closer look, it appeared to be a slightly glowing chain wrapped around its neck. "You guys! There's a chain sticking out of the back of its neck; attack that!" She shouted as she gathered energy for an attack.

We all nodded as the monster roared and tried to attack us again. Luckily, this time Chloe and I were able to slash at its arms as the guys viciously attacked the back of its neck. From the expression on Fenimore's face, I guessed it was working.

The barrage continued for a bit until the creature had been attacked so much that its neck was bleeding from many of the slashed and bruises from the iron erens. Its shriek of hatred echoed through the battlefield as it beat us aside, me and Chloe almost sliding off the ledge but instead hit a large piece of rock near it. Walter, Senel and Jay all slid to a stop nearby, breathing heavily as they tried to stand to fight some more.

The monster's eyes turned towards Fenimore, who in turn gasped in alarm and dropped the magic lens. **"Women… You're the one who gave away my weakness…!"** It took a heavy step towards her and as the others tried to attack it, the fiend knocked the attacks back at the spellcasters and they got blasted away; leaving Fenimore as the only one standing.

"Walter… Shirley, everyone!" She whimpered, before the monster was right in front of her.

"**You're going to go first, wench…"** It brought back its curled claws and grinned cruelly. **"The terrified ones always taste the best… Now die!"** It brought its fist down as Shirley and I screamed in unison.

"FENIMORE!!"

However, I noticed that though Fenimore was spattered with blood, but it wasn't hers. Fenimore looked up and saw that the monster's pursuit had stopped because of a fist that had imbedded itself in its side while the talon had clawed into the figure's shoulder, blood leaking and spilling down his white shirt. "Wal… ter…?" Fenimore breathed out as the Ferines pulled out his fist and kicked him aside.

"Senel, Jay; now!" Walter shouted as the two iron eren attacked the beast's neck with another huge blast. After that, it howled in pain and agony as the glowing chain broke and shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. After that, it fell to his knees and slowly disintegrated into dust.

The two guys landed onto the ground as the others slowly got to their feet. Will walked over to the site where the creature had fallen and picked up what looked like a mirror, only there were the same markings as the scroll. "Hmm… Odd."

While Will was over there doing his own thing, Walter pulled Fenimore to her feet, only to stumble himself. Fenimore quickly grabbed his arm and pulled it around her shoulders, careful not to injure his shoulder further. "Walter, you idiot… Why'd you do that; now you're hurt!"

Walter simply chuckled at her worried expression, "Oh please, you think I would just let some freak of a monster kill you? You must have… some kind of death wish or something here. It seems like every time you come here you're either dead or about to be killed."

"I do not! It's just… well look at you; your almost dead yourself!" Fenimore responded frazzled.

"Well it would've been worth it, wouldn't it…?" Walter looked up at her and smiled, "There's no point in being around if you're not there with me, Fenimore."

Fenimore opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out as tears welled up in her eyes. In his language, that categorized as 'I really care for you'. Silently, she just buried her face in his chest and hugged him. He brought an arm and wrapped it around her frame.

I saw Norma looked over and almost coo about how utterly romantic and sweet the moment was, but I clamped a hand around her mouth and dragged her off. _'Guess I really didn't need to help those two anyway. Mission complete Onyx.'_

**BlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAhBlAh**

_(starts bawling) Gah! So romantic, it buuurns! Well there's your fluff, happy? …That was a bit painful to write, but now that this arc is over I'm over my writer's block. Yaaay! Oh yeah, Jay's character quest is coming up after a follow-up of this, so keep an eye out for that. Hope you all enjoyed it, and please review so I can know that the fluff wasn't awful. Sayonara!_


	19. Picnic!

_Whew… Now that the main fight is over, it's time to start on a calming-down chapter before the action starts up again. Hopefully this'll contain fluff too. :3 Hope you all like!_

_- - - - - - - - - -_

After everyone more or less limped back to Will's place, we all healed each other's wounds and injuries after taking up a lot of the store's healing items. Still though, with the shear amount of injuries there were, the group probably won't be active for a while. Here's the good news though; it looked like Senel and Walter finally made up, seeing as they weren't doing much other then hurting the team fighting. Instead, they just had a 'friendly' rivalry trying to outdo each other.

After much freaking out on Harriett's part with all the bloody people tromping in, most were bandaged up pretty well. While I was leaning against one of the couches, Norma and Shirley were asleep on one couch while Walter and Fenimore were on the other. In one of the other rooms; Jay, Will, Senel and Chloe were chatting about the mysterious monster. Grune and Moses went out, either gardening or snoozing at the bandit's camp.

Looking over to the door, I painfully got up and tip-toed towards the door in which the others were and listening in to their conversation.

"…don't see how this would matter; the mist came before Onyx came here." I heard Chloe reprimand.

"Still, isn't there the slightest chance that—" I heard Senel's voice interrupted by Jay.

"It doesn't matter. Even though it is suspicious, I doubt it's anything but pure coincidence." Jay explained, a doubtful tone in his voice._ "Clearing that up, what about that figurine you found Will?" 'What figurine? I didn't see anything.'_ I thought to myself.

"It's old; seems like it's made of some sort of brass-colored metal, though it's burnt in places." Will commented, curiosity clearly visible. "At any rate, I'll fully examine it later. If you'll excuse me." I heard him walk off, and I freaked out when the others were walking towards the door.

I sprinted as fast as I could to the others and accidentally banged Walter in the head as they walked out. His eyes opened drowsily and glared at me, "What the hell was that for…?"

I guess he wasn't very intimidating when he was sleepy, so the only thing he got out of me was a slight grin and a shrug.

He growled and closed his eyes again. "Idiot…" He muttered to himself quietly as I sweatdropped.

Looking towards the others, I smiled and pointed towards the door. "Well, I'm outta here now; bye!" With that I walked out, hands shoved into pockets casually. Now let's see what kind of other stuff this town had to offer in forms of entertainment...

Trotting down the streets, I noticed there were more people here then I had previously thought, with really nice houses too; enough that it wasn't uncommon to see a mansion. _'I guess rich people like living on the Legacy then…'_ I thought to myself as I passed a nicely dressed couple in front of a heart-shaped building. I shuddered at the color scheme however. I mean seriously; a _pink_ house? You've got to be crazy to have something like that! …Actually, it may belong to the BB's.

Laughing, my thoughts drifted back to the group. I noted their condition, but how much we seemed together again. The bump with Wally and Senny was mostly over and done with, and apparently Jay didn't hate me as much. Yay! …However, it has been a while since we all got together and had a good time. Like a party, or even…

"A picnic!" I said aloud. Just like Grune was always talking about, up at Lumen Spring; it was perfect! I skipped in the direction of the bakery, accidentally catching the wrath of an elderly lady I had run into as I went. Covering my head from her huge cream-colored purse, I stopped prancing along and ran for dear life.

"**You damned teenager! Get back here so I can teach you a lesson in some manners!!"** She screeched as loud as her nasally old lungs would allow.

"**Sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm sorry!"** I screamed back, spinning halfway around a pole and heading down another street and away from her. I allowed myself pant a few moments before walking the rest of the way towards the way back to Will's place. I snuck to the outside of the door and listened in for a conversation… But other than Senel, Chloe and Jay chatting there wasn't any noise. _'I should probably wake some of them up...'_ I thought to myself as I quietly opened the door and let myself inside.

Looking inside, I saw that Shirley had gone and Moses took her spot, but the Ferines couple hadn't moved an inch… I slunk over to the snoozing Norma and Moses and gently shook their shoulders. Moses rolled over and opened his eyes lazily. "Whuh…?" He asked drowsily.

"Hey, what do ya say about us --as in me, you an' Norma—arranging a picnic at Lumen Spring? Ya know, take the edge off everyone?" I whispered softly back, careful not to give it away to others.

The tattooed redhead scrunched his eyebrows in thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yeah, seems like a good idea. We all need a break after that thing at the cliff…" He inched off the couch as I tried shaking Norma awake.

"Hey… Wake up, Norma. …Wake up, Norma, hey!" Frustrated, I poked her harshly in the ribs and she fell to the floor.

With a groan, she groaned and rubbed her side, "Owie, be nice…" And with that, she rolled over and fell asleep again.

With an angered vein pulsating on my temple, I cupped my hands around her ear and screamed, **"WAKE UP!!"**

That got her up. With a squeak, she jumped to her feet and backed away a full meter clutching her ringing eardrums. "Kyaaa! Otto; why'd you yell at me!?" She exclaimed over Moses' spontaneous laughter.

I leaned on foot and replied, "Simple. You wouldn't wake up, so I had to myself…"

I heard a snort in the background and Norma's face turned red. "That isn't funny, Red!" She retorted.

"Oh yes it is, Bubbles!" Moses laughed while I giggled.

"Anyways, Norma… What do you say to arranging a picnic at Lumen Spring for the gang with all of us?" I asked curiously.

Norma's expression brightened and grinned, "Great idea! I'll go find C, Senny and Shirl; you find the rest!" A bounce in her step and the door opening, and she was gone.

- - - - - - - - - -

A little while later, Norma had managed to convince everybody (yes, even the emotastic shrimp Jay) to come along. Will, Norma and I had arranged it, while Harriett and the Ferines members of our group helped out with the cooking.

When we got to the location, Will and Harriett helped arrange the picnic while Shirley and Grune planted flowers near the bank of the spring. The others just chatted with each other while Norma and I played fetch with Geit, then convinced him to slobber all over Walter. He was pissed, and it was all we could do not to let him use his eres to make the poor galf into a fur coat.

Thank god for the interruption, Will called all of us over for lunch. After I looked through the food a bit, I found some of the sandwiches that Fenimore made. She and Shirley was a fairly decent cooks, while Harriett couldn't determine whether you put peanut butter with jelly or dried seaweed. Walter… well, he put so much spice into his it was toxic to whoever didn't have a mouth of steel.

I looked over to Chloe and Shirley chatting by themselves, with Fenimore and Norma joining them by the edge of the spring. I was a bit curious, but thought nothing of it. I simply laid on my back and chewing on my sandwich, stared up at the big blue sky splotched with white fluffy clouds. I turned my eyes to the guys who I sat with. Moses and Senel were talking about how complicated the girls were… …Hey wait a minute!

I sat up and glared at the two chatting. "Hey! Girls aren't that complicated!" I said in indignation. "It's just that you guys are too simple minded." I heard Jay's snort of amusement behind me and I turned around and grinned maniacally at him, "That includes you too, little JJ!" His expression turned into a glare while I just grinned and laughed.

Harriett looked down at her basket and took out one of her sandwiches, then held it out to Will, "Here, Dad. Try one of my sandwiches." I almost saw a look of resignation as he took a slice and bit into it.

Jay looked over and shook his head, "That's brave of you Will; it's worse than poison…" Harriett gave him a look that could kill Nerefis, and as a result Jay sweatdropped fearfully and stumbled out, "J-just kidding…"

I scooted next to him and elbowed him lightly in the shoulder, "I don't blame you; she's scary…" I whispered quietly, careful not to draw her gaze. This just proved that little girls were the spawn of hell…

He quickly nodded, fear slowly fading from his expression. "For once I agree with you…"

"Righto… …Hey, wait a minute! Whaddaya mean _for once?!_" He simply smirked while I fumed in anger and confusion.

"So? How is it?" Harriett asked, hoping for a happy critique.

"It's better than last night's dinner." He commented as he took another bite.

Moses, Senel and the rest of us decided it was deemed fit to eat (to an extent) and started on ours. Moses moaned and rubbed his stomach after a few bites. "Senel… I ain't feelin' so good…"

Senel simply took on a stone-look (probably to hide the awful taste) and took another bite, "Shut up and eat. Be a man."

Moses complied and took another with a teary look. He swallowed with a shudder and looked over at Will. "That Will's amazing', I'll tell ya…"

After that comment Grune happily took a bite of her sandwich and exclaimed, "Oh my, they're delicious!"

"Will's not the only one who's amazing…" Senel sweat dropped. I covered my mouth before a snort of amusement could escape it, then took another bite of my sandwich.

Harriett held out another sandwich as Will finished his first slice, "Open up and say, 'Aaaaah…"

I gazed out of the side of my eye over at the silent Jay beside me, noticing his eyes clouding over with past memories. I scrunched my brows in curiosity and Moses noticed too. He quickly asked Harriett for a sandwich and swaggered his way over to the short eren. He then proceeded to shove it down Jay's throat.

Needless to say, that got a reaction out of him.

Jay's eyes almost immediately widened and his face turned a slight shade of red. His eyes started watering and he held his hands to his mouth as he quickly swallowed it and gasped, **"Water!"** He took a nearby water bottle (more like jug) and chugged down half of it trying to clear out his scalding throat. When he got his wits back, he angrily gritted out, "Are you trying to kill me!?"

I felt an angered, cold aura behind me and leaned on my side to see a very pissed off Walter cracking his knuckles. **"Care to look me in the eye and repeat that?"** I almost cracked up laughing at the expression of cold-blooded terror on Jay's face.

Luckily, Norma called everyone over to the spring, breaking up all the tension with a hammer and chisel. _'Thank god she did…'_ The hyperactive teenager held up a large leaf and said, "Alright everyone, here's the reason I called you guys here today!"

Will had an expression of remembrance on his face, "Oh yeah. I forgot the Star Festival was today."

The three Oresoren brothers tilted their furry heads in confusion, "What's that?"

"You scallops don't know about it?" She remarked.

"We're not scallops!" They all cried in unison.

She simply shrugged, "Alright then; Teach, fill them in!"

Will nodded, "Basically, people write wishes on leaves and let them float down a river or spring. There's no guarantee that those wishes will come true, and the actual festival is very old, so not much is known about it's origins."

Fenimore looked over at Shirley and commented, "Floating wishes downstream… They may have been entrusting their wishes to Nerifes."

"I don't have any wishes; so if you will excuse me, I pass." Jay spoke up, then turned and walked to the other side of the spring. The three Oresoren quickly followed. Silence decided not to follow and was left with the group.

"Oh well; it wouldn't really be fun if we forced anyone into it. Anyways, grab a leaf guys!" Norma said the last line with a cheer.

Later on, everyone had a leaf and was writing down their wishes. I tapped my writing utensil against my chin thinking of a worthwhile wish. I had nothing. Nada, zero, zilch. Though… I never was really good at making wishes anyways. Either it was too stupid to come true, too large to be possible, or just wasteful. So, I just kept the leaf in my pocket and looked over the other's wishes.

Grune happily wrote, _**"May the world be at peace."**_ Joy, we have a real Miss America here… Next!

Will wrote, _**"May the dinner table be at peace." **_Ha! Like that'll ever happen, Will… Sorry, but you're just going to have to put up with Harriett's bad cooking.

Harriett's wish: _**"I'm going to make Dad enjoy my cooking!"**_ Oh boy… kiss that _'peace at the dinner table' _goodbye, Teach!

So with the boring people over and done with, I went over to the cool people group (or at least the fun ones).

Norma seemed to follow my example by looking over everyone's leaves and commenting on them.

Chloe was up first as she held out hers for Norma to see, _**"May Elsa live a happy life."**_

"Boooring! You're such a goody-goody, C! What about you, Red?" Norma commented before moving on.

The tall-and-tanned one held out his leaf, _**"May Geit be healthy and happy!"**_

"Geez, what is it with all your goody-goody wishes! C'mon, wish for something a little more worthwhile!"

The blond Ferines, who just wrote down his wish rolled his eyes, "Alright then, Miss Hyperactive-Chipmunk; what's your not so selfless wish?"

Norma proudly announced, _**"Hook me up with a drop-dead-gorgeous bod!"**_ She pointed at Chloe. "I'm not asking for G-girl, but a C at least."

Fenimore exclaimed, "What kind of wish is that?"

Norma pouted with a frustrated expression, "Hey, it's not easy being flat as a board, you know!"

Chloe just shrugged, "Why not Grune then?"

Norma, after that, kinda snapped as she went on a rampant tirade. "Are you kidding me? G-girl's beyond human! She's a booty-licious goddess; every man's dream! What am I? Every carpenter's dream! Me and my pancakes will have to shoot for something a little more realistic, mainly you and yours, C. There's no way that my mosquito bites will match G-girl with anything short of the Everlight and that's way gone! You should take pity on those less endowed, you insensitive clod!" My shoulders literally shook as I struggled to keep in my withheld laughter, and the fiery yellow girl shouted at me, "That includes you, Otto! You're just short of G-girl and you know it!"

My expression immediately turned to surprise and embarrassment, **"EEEH!?"**

Walter gave a snort of laughter and commented, "I'm surprised you're even aiming that high, Norma… You couldn't even keep up with **Jay** and even _he_ outclasses you."

Norma screeched in rage as she tried to impale the blond Ferines with Grave, then tried to throw lightning blasts at him when he took to the air. The funny image led to all of us bursting out loud with mirth.

Shirley, who until now stayed quiet, quietly commented that she too wanted Chloe's physique.

Norma, who stopped and walked back over after finally hitting her target with a rock, asked, "Hey Shirl, what'd you ask for?" The younger girl blushed and held the leaf against her chest, writing hidden.

"What did you write?" Senel asked in curiosity.

"N-nothing!" She said, and Senel apologized.

Then, as if on queue, all four of the girls (excluding myself and Grune) pointed at him and announced, "Despicable."

'_Owch… and in unison.' _I thought to myself and looked over at the slightly disgruntled Ferines brushing off the dust of his shirt. "What's your guys'?"

Walter locked eyes with me which clearly said, _'Ask and you'll pay with your life…' _Fortunately, he liked me too much to just kill off like that. So, I took it upon myself to grab the leaf from his grip and twirl it in the air in achievement. "Hey!"

I turned and read it to myself. _**"I want to cook something other than ramen!"**_ There was also a pouting smiley face beside it. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the thought.

All of a sudden, I felt myself being lifted by my collar, then thrown into the spring with a large splash. I stood up in the water sputtering and officially pissed off, looking up at the smirking Walter hovering about a foot above the ground. "**AGAIN!? **Haven't I gotten wet enough times this week!?" I yelled in frustration while I trudged back up to the edge, wringing the water out of my shirt as I went. The group had, again, burst into laughter; but at a different person.

Grune and the other two (Sir Grumpy-pants was still brooding somewhere) had by that time walked up to our little party and the 'booty-licious goddess' asked Senel, "What's your wish Senel?"

Senel the showed everyone his leaf, _**"May I always be together with my friends."**_

Norma shook her head in disappointment, "Sheesh, you're just like Miss Goody-goody here; Boooring!" The group laughed and we set our wish leaves on the water and watched them drift downstream. By that time I had already found out what my wish was.

"_**May the times I spend here with my friends never go away."**_

- - - - - - - - - -

**Grune earned the title of "Booty-licious Goddess"! -- **_**"Her milkshakes bring all the boys to the yard…"**_

**Norma earned the title of "Forever-Flat Chick"! -- **_**"H**__**ey, a girl can dream, can't she?"**_

_Phew… That was an annoying one to write; I needed reference after reference on that chapter. But still, I tried to include everyone. :) Anyways, hope you all liked, and please review or something. That, or heck out some of the other ToL fanfics and review them. Writer's love reviews; trust me on that!_


	20. I'm a Ninja, Belive It!

_Yo. Enjoy the chapter; it's the first of Jay's character quest, And so now we get back into the main storyline. It's longer than usual since I took up references a lot. Hope you enjoy!_

_I also appologize for the exceedingly long wait. I've been busy with no real break and have homework up to my shoulders to do. I'll try to write when I can..._

_Disclaimer: Again, I neither currently nor ever will own Tales of Legendia. But since this is **fanfiction**.net; I guess you already knew that. :)_

_- - - - - - - - - -_

My eyes slowly opened as I rolled over to see the faint glow of the sun rising over the buildings near the inn. I rubbed at my eyes and slowly sat up, drowsily getting out of bed and stretching. I walked over to the window and noticed a note hanging from it in a bold script that reminded her of a mix of graffiti and old English fonts.

**Meet up with Senile and the black-haired shrimp outside the inn; they'll take you to Musette's place. She 'apparently' has a mission for us, keh… See you there.**

**--Person who threw you into the spring yesterday**

'_Since when does Walter check up on me?' _I thought to myself with a bemused expression on my face. I simply shrugged and shoved the note into a pocket, making sure to add a note in my mind to ask about his odd style of handwriting.

I quickly got dressed and walked out the main door to find Jay tapping his foot a little impatiently and leaning against one of the posts that ended an side of the fence. He looked up at me and sighed, "Shall we go get Senel?" He asked, expression as serious and sharp as ever.

I leaned on one foot as I asked, "Why get me before Senel?"

"Because believe it or not, you're not the hardest to wake up in the mornings." Jay responded with a hit of amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, Norma is." I replied back with a grin.

Jay smirked, "Yes, that suits her… Now lets go."

"Mm'kay." I shrugged and followed. Surprisingly, I forgot Senel's house wasn't that far away from where I was currently staying. Two story, nice garden; a little run down, but not much of a problem to fix that. I guess I was too busy running away from his wrath that day Walter pranked him as a ghost and blamed it on me to really notice it.

Jay just decided not to knock and to go on inside, and I was confused to see that instead of up in his bed, Senel was on the floor near the kitchen downstairs. It looked like he had been knocked off his bed, rolled across the floor, down the flight of stairs, and then came to a stop near the bed. A swirled shape… Now that's an odd situation. That, or he fell off the railing and fell a full floor/story.

Jay walked up to Senel's sleeping form and tried to wake him up, with no success. "Wake up, Senel…" He asked. "Please?" No answer from the white lump on the floor. Jay gave a tired sigh and just as I was walking over to kick Senel awake, he sat up, fully awake. Very drowsy with squinted eyes, but awake.

The white teen slowly looked up at Jay and I, "…Jay and Onyx? What are you doing here?"

The black-haired eren shrugged, "Apparently it's my turn to come and get you."

I raised my hand from my elbow, "And I just tailed along." I looked up at the railing from where he rolled from. "…Did you fall?"

Senel looked confused, "Did I?"

"Well, there was a rather large earthquake last night, so you may have…" Jay replied.

Senel stood up and also looked at the railing, sweat dropping. "…" He was silent.

"…" Jay was silent.

"…" I was silent.

"…" We all were silent.

"…People normally don't sleep through that." I answered incredulously.

"Not normally, no."

- - - - - - - - - -

Musette's house was beautiful, I had to tell ya that much. A large hedge clipping of what looked like a siren in front with a huge array of trees and flowers; her house was even nicer! But never mind details; back to the events at hand.

The entire gang was there, waiting as promised. Also there was this kindly elderly lady in a chair at the head of the large table, and on the side were two… well, what looked a blue-haired Elvis wannabe and his lady friend.

I waved and said, "Sorry we're a bit late."

The woman at the table I could only assume was Musette answered, "It's no problem; we were just beginning to discuss out situation." I liked her already! She turned to the outlandishly-dressed woman and asked, "Isabella, would you be so kind as to continue with your report?"

She placed a fist to her chest that reminded me of an army salute of some kind. "There's been a group of assassins that has infiltrated the Legacy."

"Assassins!?" Senel replied.

"What else is new?" Walter muttered to himself.

"There have been numerous reports of them being spotted, though they never say what they are looking for or who hired them." She continued, and the room was silent.

"Well, why can't we just go and kick their asses like anyone else?" I asked, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"That is easier said than done. The worst thing about these assassins is that they're the worse kind… Ninjas." With that, they earned a few gasps and looks of astonishment.

"Ninjas… That's just what we need." Will muttered to himself.

"What's a ninja?" Moses asked curiously, earning shocked glances all around.

"How can you not know what a ninja is!?" I exclaimed, amazed even he didn't know.

"Well excuse me for not having enough cash to attend school--"

"**THAT'S NO EXCUSE!" **Norma and I yelled in unison.

"Ninja are assassins who strike from the shadows and cast aside all emotions and feelings." He explained, his violet eyes a bit sharper and chilly then normal. "They are just like living machines; they're no longer human."

"Well why are they here? Going to kill someone or something?" Moses asked while I slapped my forehead.

The cold look disappeared in Jay's eyes as he looked at the bandit with an expression that said he'd rather hang out with the ninjas than this idiot. "Moses; your idiocy knows no bounds…"

The Elvis wannabe spoke up next "We're not sure about that as this time… But after what happened after the events at the Bridge or with Vaclav, we can't rule out that other countries will be looking to find, capture and or use the Ferines to their advantage."

"Oh yeah, that means people'll be after Shirl again." Norma commented when Shirley's expression looked down at her feet.

"I'm not the only one, though…" She mumbled under her breath.

"I dare them to try!" Senel spoke up.

"What are they skills-wise?" Chloe asked.

"More powerful than someone without eres, but they won't hesitate to kill or sacrifice themselves for their mission; so they're a very dangerous opponent." Will remarked.

"Well where does that lead us?" Senel asked with a nod.

Musette nodded. "That is where you all come in. A group was recently spotted near the old Oresoren Village. I want you all to go and investigate, and if possible interrogate these individuals as to what exactly they are doing on the Legacy. Would you help us out; there's no one else I can turn to."

Will took up the same stance Isabella had done earlier and said, "Consider it done."

Musette smiled, "Thank you all; I knew I could count on you."

We all nodded and walked outside towards the gates. I asked for a few minutes as I took Walter's bag full of gels and a hairtie. Tying up my hair into a ponytail, I ran to go meet up with the others and use the duct that had already been opened weeks before.

After all I had already seen, I wasn't as surprised to see another odd cavern. Only this one seemed to have been out of use for a long time. Much like Harriett's culinary skills. After dispatching of the monsters, we took a small break at a widely spaced area with broken pillars on the sides.

I slowly slid down the side of a wall near the entrance of another room and sighed heavily. Again, a bit on the hungry side and have been fighting monsters again. Sure, I didn't mind the fights as much… but lugging around a heavy scythe and swinging it most of the morning wore down on you a bit.

I turned my head over one way and gazed at a few of the chatting members, mainly Norma, Moses, Fenimore and Walter. Norma made some gestures and a shocked face while some of the others laughed, pouted or were shocked themselves. I smiled and closed my eyes while breathing in the slightly musty air.

"Onyx!" I opened my eyes at the call of my name and saw a darkly clad warrior near the passage that we were currently heading towards. He threw some kind of weapon at Norma, but Jay stepped in front of it and easily blocked it with his knife. I immediately got to my feet with my scythe in hand. Suddenly, he sped away almost as quickly as he came.

We gave chase after the mysterious figure, who I figured was a ninja, and found ourselves figuring out we were in the old Oresoren village. The figure in front of us stopped and stood still in the center of the large path.

"Alright, we caught you; now tell us who you are!" Senel demanded.

The ninja simply replied, "Why? It is of no concern of yours what my name is. Just hand over the Merines and I'll be done with you." Looking at the stunned expressions of some, he chuckled, "Oh? I never knew that you all would be stupid enough to fall for my plan; without that information I leaked you wouldn't even be here."

Senel threw a hand in front of Shirley and took up a battle stance, as did the rest of us. "You'll just have to get through me first if you want to get to Shirley!"

The ninja sighed to himself, "Fine then, have it your way." And with a speed I couldn't predict, he charged, only to have his blade caught up with Jay's. The two forced each other back and the opponent grunted in dismay.

He rose his arm and a monster suddenly appeared. It was a large, dark green bug that looked like a huge beetle with large jaws and antennae that could stand on two legs. "Thrash them within an inch of their lives." The ninja commanded before retreating with Jay hot on his tail as the huge bug chirped an array of angry clicks and whistles and bounced towards us.

I gripped my scythe in both hands as I charged with the other iron eren of out group. Chloe and I slashed at it with our weapons while the guys gave it an array of kicks and punches. It wouldn't be that easy taking down this beast though; it's shell deflected out attacks and the guys didn't get off so lightly either.

The bug then proceeded to spray some sort of green mist in our direction. At least… That was what I saw before it came in contact with my eyes and I couldn't see anything. Almost immediately, I covered and held my eyes with one hand while holding my scythe in a defensive maneuver. "Ggh, my eyes…!" I gritted out under the intense stinging. I felt an arm loop around my waist and being pulled away from the fight.

I felt myself being put down again and heard Moses' voice near me. "Hey, you alright?"

I swallowed and said, "My eyes… It sprayed something in my eyes; oh, it stings!" I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, from pain or trying to flush out the mist I don't know. I heard some shuffling and the warmth of a healing spell on my face. This one was different from the others though, it felt like something was leaving my eyes. Sooner or later, the stinging was mostly gone and I could open one of my eyes to an extent. I saw a blurred image of Shirley with Moses throwing an array of javelins against the green bug.

"Hey, are you ok now?" She asked, concern clear on her face.

I nodded and sat up, "I can see out of one, that's all I need at the moment…" I shakily took my scythe and charged. As it was distracted by Chloe and Senel doing a joint effort on it, I dragged the scythe along one of it's wings, clipping off part of one and earning a screech of pain from it.

I smiled then looked ahead towards where Jay had run off too. I thought to myself a moment, then looked back. The others had the oversized beetle occupied, so it wouldn't make as much of a difference if I…

I turned my head towards Senel and the others, "Take care of that thing; I'll go ahead and find Jay!" As I ran towards the exit of the village, I heard yells of protest behind me, but I ignored them. As I came across a trail, I was reluctant to go a certain way. At least… until a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me a certain way.

"This way!" Norma exclaimed as she pulled me another way.

"Norma, what are you doing here?" I exclaimed as she led me down a long flight of stairs to the bottom levels.

"I'm here to help, of course! You think I don't care about that little pipsqueak; as if!" She yelled back, slowing down a bit to let us catch our breaths. "He normally doesn't act this way; I'm worried…" She looked at the ground with a serious expression on her face.

"…I am too. C'mon; we still have a ways yet to go." I togged on her sleeve before we took off deeper into the passage.

- - - - - - - - - -

A while later, we got to the last stretch and saw Jay's familiar form with someone talking to him in his ear. I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising as I recognized him. That greased hair and malevolent look… I can recognize it anywhere. Norma got to him before I could even try. "Get away from him!" She yelled as she threw a fireball at him.

He backed up a few yards while Norma and I ran in between them, weapons at the ready. He took one look at me and laughed. "I never expected you to be here; we never got to chat properly that one time…"

"You know this guy?" Norma asked.

"Not by choice…" I responded, disgust clear in my voice.

"I am rather curious; how is your Radiant friend?" His eyes glinted maliciously.

"None of your business. What the hell do you want here?" I asked, getting right to the point.

He shrugged with a seemingly careless look, "That's really none of your business, is it little girl?" That comment made me fume.

"Who's hiring you then? What country?" Norma continued where I left off with a barely contained voice of anger.

"To the highest bidder. I don't care where the shift of power goes to; so long as I have my fun."

"You're sick…"

He turned and looked at the wall of the cavern, as if it were more interesting than us. "The mainland has gotten a bit _too_ peaceful for my tastes… With the Legacy in my hands, I could hand it to whichever country I choose. Just think… All the countries fighting a blood-soaked war on this tiny ship; simply fantastic!" He cruelly grinned, and I felt a lump in my throat. This guy was seriously one **fucked-up **freak…

"This guy's got a few screws missing in the head…" Norma muttered to herself.

"You sick son-ova-bitch…" I cursed under my breath, malice leaking through my words.

"Now now, there's no reason for such foul language… It's not my fault the world is such a passive place these days. I'm just trying to get things back to the way they were… Who knows…" He smirked again. "Maybe the Radiant would even be tempted to start up another Cataclysm."

I just couldn't take it anymore. I roared in anger and swung my scythe at his neck, hoping it would snap off like a twig. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke to only appear in another spot. He laughed that cruel hideous laugh of his again, and I shuddered. "What a spiteful girl you are! Even more fun to play around with…"

I froze, then screamed, "You sick freak!" as I took another slash at him. This time, he reappeared in front of the entrance.

The disturbing man looked behind me and said, "Well well well, your little group of incompetents are here. I'll be on my way then. I'll make sure to turn this place into a war-torn battlefield filled with blood. Ahahahaha!" He disappeared in another plume of smoke, with his laughter echoing in our ears.

I shuddered again and let my scythe drop to the ground as I rubbed my arms for horrid crawling on my skin go away. I gazed over at the group who had just arrived. Norma was now running up to them and retelling the events as to what happened. I noticed Senel's expression turned angered along with many of the others. Shirley and Fenimore looked a bit nervous in turn while the conversations went on.

Then I gazed over at Jay and noticed his rigid form, barely moving. His violet eyes were dark with an expression I had never seen before on him, and his face was pale. …Well, paler than it should be. His knees gave out and he suddenly collapsed into a sitting position.

"JJ!? You alright?" Norma asked in concern.

"I-I'm fine… Just a little tired, that's all…" He responded quietly. _'No, your not Jay…' _I thought to myself.

"You don't look so good Jay." Moses commented.

"Let's take him back to the Oresoren Village now." Will finalized as the young eren shakily got to his feet and helped lead the way.

Somehow, I knew something very bad was going to happen soon… Something to do with that heartless man back there. But…Why did I have the feeling that Jay would be part of it?

- - - - - - - - - -

_(shudders) God, I hated writing the last parts of that. Solon always scared the crap out of me; I hate having to deal with that greasy slime-ball… Anyways, please cheer up Jay and review! He'd sure appreciate it!_


	21. A Second Encounter

_Finally past chapter 20; Halleughia!! X3 Again, thanks to all who've read this so far. You've made my life great by keeping this story alive! *tosses out boxes of cookies* Hope you enjoy the new chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Legendia, any sci-fi movie or any relations to them._

- - - - - - - - - -

The trip was a fairly short one, getting back to Werites Beacon from the underground otter village. The sky was glittering with stars, most of the smaller and less noticeable ones were faded against the powerful light beams of the street lamps. Crickets chirped in the late summer evening as feet trudged quietly through town.

I felt exhausted after all that happened, yet my mind was buzzing about what had transpired earlier that day. From the announcement of ninjas invading to Solon to the Oresoren explaining Jay's past… The battle with the green beetle and getting my eyes poisoned was just the icing on the cake. My left eye was still throbbing from that occurrence. I thought back to what the three otter brothers told us had told us…

"_That man was the one who raised Jay. …used as a decoy and got away… Used to never smile… …we don't want him to go back to the way he used to be. …so cheerful around you guys."_

I closed my mind as I thought back to that bloodthirsty Solon. That man was truly terrifying; I can see how Jay was scared of him. Hell, I'd do pretty much anything not to meet up with _**him**_ again.

The cold air sent a chill down my spine and I decided to end my walk sometime soon… I quietly returned to my room and willed myself to go to sleep. But the startled thoughts churning through my mind kept me from falling into unconsciousness. …Well, I was always a bit of an insomniac.

- - - - - - - - - -

**-poke-**

'_Mmm… Stop poking me…'_

**-poke poke poke-**

'_Stooop iiit…'_

**-JAB-**

"Oww!"

My eyes opened to see a tanned figure poking me in the ribs. I groaned, "Go 'way, Moses…"

He pouted and pinched my cheek, "C'mon Onyx, get up!"

"Nooooo…" I moaned back, slapping away his hand away and rolling over in bed, closing my eyes once more. After a few moments I sighed to myself, trying to get back into the sweet realm of dreams. I suddenly felt two arms wrap around my shoulders and knees and lift me out of bed, sheets still attached. "Kyaaa! Moses, what are you doing!?" I squeaked, squirming out of his grip.

"Well if you're not gonna go willingly then I'll just take ya there; it's almost 11 already!" Moses crossed his arms, pointing to the clock on the wall.

I groaned, "Aww… What does Will want this time?"

"Actually, it's Jay who called all of us."

That got my attention. "Jay? What does he want?" I questioned, a bit curious how the iron eren was doing. I doubt he fully recovered from seeing Solon again after just one night.

"Beats me. He just wanted all of us ta meet up at Will's place." was Moses' response. His tone informed that he was just as suspicious as I was.

I yawned, "Ok ok… I'll just go get some normal clothes on." I walked over to my dresser while he left the room a bit too quickly. Good idea. As I successfully got dressed, I looked over at the bed with a sleepy gaze and slowly smiled to myself.

Outside, Moses bounced on his foot impatiently. He knocked on the door again, "Hey; you done yet?" No answer. "…Onyx?" He turned the doorknob and peeked inside. What he saw was myself, on the bed, fast asleep again. The redhead's eye twitched as he yelled, **"WAKE UP!!"**

- - - - - - - - - -

As Moses and I entered Will's house, the group was all looking over at Jay, who seemed perfectly normal. "So Jay, you sure you're alright?" Senel asked.

"We heard about Solon." Chloe spoke up.

"The scallop brothers told us what happened." Norma continued.

The young eren was silent, then turned and mumbled something to himself, "Honestly, those three can't keep their mouths shut." He turned around and responded, "I'm fine, really."

"Says the kid who spent the night holed up in his room all scared stiff." Moses commented.

"I wasn't scared, just a bit surprised." He countered.

I suddenly let loose a large sneeze and everyone gazed over at me as I sniffled. "Sorry; I'm allergic to bullshit. Please continue."

After a glare from Jay, he continued, "So let's start this meeting." he looked at everyone before continuing with his next line. "I want to go eliminate Solon."

"But--" Norma tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Isn't that a bit dangerous, Jay?" Will asked, crossing his arms in question.

"In the case of ninja, the one who strikes first wins. Every moment we procrastinate gives him time to prepare and that puts us even more at a disadvantage."

"But what about--" Norma started again.

"What about the case with Shirley? She is her target, after all…" Fenimore brought up.

"Shirley would be safer with everyone here, I think." Grune breezily said, and Moses nodded. "She does bring up a good point."

"I want to go with you guys." Shirley announced, and once that girl made a decision she was stubborn enough to stick to it.

"But where exactly are these ninja anyways?" Norma finally got the chance to spit out.

"Don't worry, I already found out they're located at the Ruins of Frozen Light."

"Wow, you sure was busy in your room, weren't you?" Moses commented.

"I told you, I wasn't scared." Jay sighed, again in denial.

"Ok then, let's go hunt down some ninja then!" Norma cheered, trying to lighten the mood.

"Charge!" Grune happily copied her.

After getting some breakfast, we all took off for the Ruins of Frozen Light. When we entered, I felt like I had just walked into some kind of sci-fi movie. Not Star Wars; that was the elevator that led to the quiet lands. …Maybe Aliens or something like that? Ah well, never mind that. After walking through the door, Norma yelled again, "Let's go get So-So!"

"Charge!" Her green partner-in-crime cheered again. All but Moses and Jay sweat dropped.

"By So-So, you mean Solon, right?" Chloe asked.

"Of course!" Norma nodded enthusiastically.

"You sound awfully proud of it…" Fenimore responded, sidestepping a foot.

"What, does anyone else have a better suggestion?"

I knew of a few, but none were very appropriate for this fan fiction. So I kept my mouth shut.

"So long as we can understand you, you can call him whatever you want." Senel finalized the deal and Norma raised a hand again. "Great, now let's go!"

In unison, Moses and Grune said, "Yeah!" and "Chaaaaarge!"

While they left, the rest of us followed and I noticed Jay's expression was downcast. I yelled over at him to join and he snapped out of it, mask back on so quickly that anyone who looked twice couldn't have been sure it was really there.

Continuing through the monsters, we finally reached part of the end of a passageway. Shirley looked around and remarked how quiet it was while some of us agreed. "It seems… Too quiet; where is everyone."

"Even if they had known we were here, they probably would have alerted each other by now." Walter remarked, looking around the entrances for a camera or something like that.

Moses leaned back in a carefree pose, "Maybe they just up and left when they heard we were comin'!"

Jay was quiet through this, and Moses ached for a response, or an insult. Either or would work. "Hey Jay; you need some of Walter's cookin' to get ya to talk some more?"

The blond Ferines gave Moses a withering glare, "Oh, shut up about that already!"

"I'd rather not get force-fed by another ingrate like you, thanks…" Jay retorted and Moses simply huffed at the insult.

"Is it just me, or did that seem kinda forced?" Senel asked, rubbing the back of his scalp.

"Jay, you've been acting odd a bit lately, is something wrong?" Norma asked, acting a bit out of character for a moment.

"I said it already, I'm fine." In denial again, Jay contradicted her.

"Then stop making that face like you gotta take a big crap." Moses said and everything seemed to be silent for a moment besides my slight smile in amusement.

Chloe stared at him in shock, "Sandor, watch your mouth!"

"What, did I say something wrong?" He asked back in confusion.

"I… I shouldn't have to tell you!" Chloe stuttered.

I was too bored with the conversation to continue anymore. I wandered down the path and looked around. Those off violet light certainly were odd looking, but beautiful, almost hypnotic in that continuous motion similar to breathing. Inhale. Exhale. In and out again, it was making me slightly dizzy looking at it. Before I thought of going back to everyone and having us continue on our way, I noticed a sparkle in the corner of one of the circles. Curious, I walked closer to the door, following the light on the tiny strand of string. I noticed it was interconnected by many little ones now, all weaving in and out like a--

I stopped dead in my tracks, an inkling of fear creeping into my insides and twisting them. My eyes became more sharp and my ears defined as adrenaline sped through my system. I saw a string move and I slowly looked upwards to see a giant monster with eight hairy legs and red eyes, all staring at me. I froze and slowly backed away, a scream rising in my throat as the gigantic black widow let out a high pitched screech.

The others immediately turned in my direction and as they took up battle positions the battle began.

I ran back, summoning my scythe as I shook uncontrollably. As everyone else ran towards it, I edged towards the exit. Call me a coward if you like, but facing an oversized version of your worse fear wasn't exactly a walk in the park. I bumped into Fenimore and she gave me a look that said death if I ran. I nodded, giving a nervous smile and took a deep breath, charging with a battle cry. I tried slashing at it's legs, but it simply climbed back into it's web whenever it was about to be hit. Annoying to say the least!

I heard a scream as it lifted Chloe and Moses into the air, spinning them in a fine net of web and sticking them next to it on the web. I narrowly dodged it's leg and tried jamming my scythe into it. It worked like a charm; the huge spider let out another screech in pain, but now it's focus was on me alone. It swung me from side to side, my grip slipping and as I fell back to the floor with a few bruises, my scythe stuck to the web fairly near the captured sword-wielder.

"Great…" I muttered to myself as I backed away to yell at Walter, "Hey! Mind helping out those two up there and getting my weapon back?"

The blond nodded and backed up, summoning his teriques wings and flying upwards to try and release Chloe first.

I noticed the spider's movements were speeding up and felt déjà vu. I dug around in my bag and found a magic lens. Peering through it, I saw info on the edges: weaknesses, strengths, power, magic, ect. Then I saw a flash of red; a chained collar between it's thorax and abdomen. I yelled over at the spell casters, "It's another one of those weird monsters! Aim for the chain between it's abdomen and thorax!"

I looked up and saw that Chloe had been freed, sliding down the wall and attacking the monster with a hatred-filled aura. I helped get gels to the others, but without my scythe I was pretty much useless. I heard a thump next to me as Moses then was freed, shooting javelins and attacks at the monster's collar. From the distance the iron eren had, the crystal eren and Moses was all that could really harm it.

I saw the spider retreat for a moment and gaze over at the figure next to the web, having almost freed my scythe from it's clutches. It then ran along the web towards him, and I felt a lump rise into my throat.

"Walter!" Fenimore yelled, turning her fire attack onto the spider's head. The firestorm raged wind and fire against it, and the spider screeched again, but managed to bite onto the retreating Ferines' leg.

Walter simply glared hatred at the spider and said through gritted teeth, "What are you looking at?" With a last tug, my scythe came free and sliced across it's eyes. It shrieked again and let go, allowing him to safely drop down to the ground level. He wobbled a bit, but stood up straight, tossing my scythe back.

"Thanks a bunch!" I yelled, charging into battle once more.

"You owe me for that!" I heard him retort, and grinned when I saw an opening on the spider's underbelly while it was still screaming in pain. I slashed underneath it, causing it to double over and give the spell casters ample time to attack the monster with a combined attack. With a last javelin throw from our favorite bandit, the chain broke and the monster let out a crackling noise, slowly falling to the floor and disintegrated into thin air.

Looking down at the ground, I approached another figurine. This time, it was a golden-colored snake, it's tail winding around it's body to form a circle. Shrugging, I slipped it into my pocket without a second thought.

I looked over at the others, breathing hard but not incredibly injured. I let out a small sigh and walked over, "Is everyone ok?"

"Pretty much; nothing a day or two's rest won't cure." Chloe replied, fingering the tear in her jacket where the oversized arachnid had grabbed her.

Norma cast a revive spell on all of us and we were pretty much a-ok again, just a little tired. Looking onwards, we continued deeper into the ruins.

- - - - - - - - - -

We finally got to the deepest part, with what seemed like a computer room with a large screen stretched across the front. We all looked around for the secretive assassins, but no luck. "There's nothing here." I commented, more than a bit annoyed. All that way, and nothing!

Jay walked over to the computers and he gave an expression of recognition. "Find something, Jay?" Will asked.

Jay nodded and called, "Shirley, could you come take a look over here? There's something here written in Relares."

As Shirley walked over, Norma ran towards them, "Hey, let me see!" I felt a chill crawl down my spine from Jay's expression. It was like he was telling her to stay back… like she was running into a trap that she may not come out of. Something was definitely very, very wrong.

I opened my mouth to question Norma's actions, but it was silenced by a huge electric fence falling from the ceiling, separating the group from Jay, Shirley and Norma. "Wha--?" Shirley started to speak, but a blow to the neck sent her to the ground, unconscious.

"Jay!? What the hell are you doing!?" Moses yelled in disbelief.

Norma tried to say something, but was silenced by a look from Jay as he took her hands behind her back. I saw him whisper something into her ear, but what I couldn't tell.

Then a cloud of smoke appeared as Solon came out of it. "Ah, good job Jay. Just as expected from my dear apprentice."

"Damn it; give back Shirley and Norma!" Senel angrily yelled.

Solon turned to all of us with a bored expression, "Ah, you all again."

"Come in here so I can tear that ugly look off your face!" Moses roared.

Solon simply sneered at him, looking at the cage they all were held in, "It's the perfect cage for a wild beast, don't you think? Maybe I'll put in a booth and charge admission! I love it, I absolutely love it!" He laughed with a sadistic smile on his face.

By this point Moses was visibly shaking with anger, and I could tell that he wasn't the only one near the breaking point. I glared at Jay and screamed, "Jay! What the hell's going; talk to us, damn it!" Jay simply stayed silent, but he didn't look at us.

"Beautiful!" Solon continued with his little speech. "The look of disbelief on your faces is absolutely perfect! It's a work of art. I can barely contain myself; this is life's true joy!"

"Cut the crap, old man! Let me out of this cage and I'll _really_ give you a piece of art…" Walter snarled angrily while Senel held the same expression, gazing over at the unconscious Shirley on the floor.

Solon sighed and lifted an arm, calling in a two ninja that knocked out Norma and picked up the two girls. "This is why I do not converse with fools." He also raised an arm to summon a skeletal lizard in the corner of the cage. "Have fun chatting inside that beast's stomach!" The six then disappeared into another cloud of smoke.

The lizard was suddenly surrounded by black mist, and we gave each other startled looks. "Oh please don't turn into that round blob, please?" Fenimore asked herself.

No go, the mist miniaturized into a small black blob-like creature, which possessed the lizard and turned it into a huge headless fiend. "You jinxed it!" I retorted.

"No time for that, just attack it!" Senel yelled, and we charged after it, hoping for the best and to come out on top.

- - - - - - - - - -

_Cliffhanger! Whew, that was a bit of a long chapter! It was hard to do the ending because I wasn't sure whether to bring Onyx along to the Mirage Palace to see the Jay/Oresoren/solon/Shirley cut scenes. But, in the end the couple was going to be JayxNorma, so I added her instead. What happens, well… I may make a bonus chapter on that. Depends on reviews! Hate it? Love it? Want to kill me for cliffy? Tell me; please review!_


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